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STOCKMAN-F 



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CHICKEN 
MONEY 



HOW TO MAKE 
FARM FLOCKS 
PROFITABLE 



BY 



HOMER W. JACKSON 

A 

Poultry Editor of 
The National Stockman and Farmesr 




COPYRIGHT 1913 BY 

THE STOCKMAN-FARMER PUBLISHING COMPANY 
PITTSBURGH, PA. 



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Prof. Homer W. Jackson, author of this work, is a commercial 
poultryman as well as a scientist. His first venture in the busi- 
ness was with a small flock of common fowls when he took 
charge of a sixty-acre Ohio farm. The hens proved to he the most 
reliable source of income on this farm, so he built up his flock 
to about 600. As he had no previous training in the poultry busi- 
ness and was constantly looking for information he was much 
impressed by the lack of definite knowledge then available about 
the farmer's hens. There was plenty of poultry literature, but 
few experiments had been made to determine facts essential to 
the success of farm flocks. Wanting to know the facts Mr. 
Jackson became an experimenter, and his work attracted the 
attention of The National Stockman and Farmer. In 1902 an ar- 
rangement was made whereby Mr. Jackson could devote his time 
and his flock to experimental work and the Stockman Poultry Ex- 
periment Farm was established, to run for almost seven years. 
When this work was undertaken few experiment stations had 
paid any serious attention to the subject. More experiments were 
made during these years that on any other farm or at any ex- 
periment station in the country, and the results obtained were 
quite similar to those reported since by experiment stations. Dur- 
ing this period and later Mr. Jackson visited many if not most of 
the profitable poultry farms in the country from Massachusetts 
to the Middle West. His work attracted the attention of Dean 
Thomas F. Hunt of the Pennsylvania State College, and in 1909 he 
accepted the position of Instructor in Poultry Husbandry at that 
institution. While there he made many tests, some of which have 
been published as bulletins. A large incubator manufacturer then 
made Mr. Jackson an offer which the College could not match and 
he became editor of its bulletins and literature. His long experi- 
ence in raising, preparing and selling poultry and its products, his 
enthusiasm as an investigator, and his wide opportunities for ob- 
servation have qualified him to write a book for farm poultry- 
keepers. And that is what this book is. It is not intended for 
fanciers or breeders of show stock but for farmers. To them we 
feel that it will be useful, particularly in leading them to put their 
poultry on a business basis and helping them to make money 
out of it. 



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CHAPTER I. 

POULTRY AS A FARM CROP. 

There may be two sides to the argument about the poultry 
business as an -exclusive specialty, but there is not the slightest 
room to question its profitableness as a branch of farm work. 
The poultry specialist can never compete with the farmer in 
the relative cost of production, and. where the resources of the 
farm are carefully estimated and utilized, the production of farm 
poultry is invariably a profitable source of income. In a 
recent investigation undertaken by the Ohio State Experiment 
Station, in which the profit from farm flocks was carefully 
estimated in a number of cases in different parts of the state 
and under widely varying conditions, it was found that the aver- 
age gross income from each fowl kept on the farm was approxi- 
mately $1.76 and the net profit after deducting cost of food, labor 
and interest on investment was 87 cents per hen; and this in 
spite of the fact that our farm flocks are rarely so managed as 
to get the maximum returns from them. 

The poultry industry has a number of advantages as a farm 
crop which are well worth considering. If there is any advantage 
in sending finished products to the market instead of unfinished 
products, then poultry must be given special recognition because 
such products represent the highest class of finished products 
that come from our farms. No other farm product represents an 
equal value in proportion to its weight. No other branch of the 
livestock industry produces a larger income in proportion to 
the value of the stock or the cost of equipment or feedstuifs 
used. The annual value of the poultry products of the farms of 
the country is estimated by government statisticians at 400 per 
cent on the market value of the stock. The amount of feed re- 
quired to produce a given weight of eggs or market poultry is 
little if any greater than that required to produce a correspond- 
ing gain in other kinds of livestock or livestock production, 
while the market value of the product is very much higher. In 
other words the farmer who feeds his grains to hens may se- 
cure a larger total income from the grains supplied than can 
be secured by utilizing any other class of livestock. In addition 
to this there is a great deal of waste feeding material present on 
the average farm which may be utilized by fowls, taking the 
place of market grains — feedstuffs that could not be utilized in 
any other way. For this reason the farm which carries a good 
flock of poultry should have the smallest possible waste in the 
utilization of farm products and resources. It is worth consid- 
ering also that on the farm it is not necessary to devote any 

5 



6 CHICKEN MONEY 

appreciable amount of land exclusively to poultry. Under or- 
dinary conditions the poultry crop represents a double profit 
from the land, interfering in no way with the utilization of the 
land for other purposes, with right management. The poultry 
products sold from the farm represent practically no loss of 
fertility and are marketed at slight expense. Not only this but 
the presence of the poultry flock may be made decidedly bene- 
ficial to the land. The fowls assist in keeping down weeds, con- 
tribute fertility of great value, and with proper care and atten- 
tion will cause no damage to the farm crops. To the farmer of 
small means the poultry crop is of special value, as the necessary 
investment in buildings and equipment is quite small in com- 
parison with the revenue which may be derived, and the pos- 
session of a certain income from the poultry flock has sustained 
many a farmer and kept him afloat during the years when he 
was getting established in other lines of farming. The story of 
one Ohio farmer is an excellent illustration of this point. 

How a Farm Flock Built a House. 

Twenty years ago this farmer started in life for himself 
with a 100-acre farm, a debt, and some chickens. From the start 
he appreciated the possibilities of poultry and within two or three 
years had increased his flock to 200 hens and has kept that 
number on an average every year since. He tried other lines of 
farming and has been successful, but still considers poultry the 
most profitable department. During all these years his gross in- 
come from the poultry flock has been from $300 to $500 a year— 
never less than $400 in recent years — and this certain income has 
pulled him out of many financial holes. Other crops and products 
have varied in gross income or in profit with the season or the 
markets, but the poultry income has never disappointed. Ten 
years ago he went in debt for an addition to his farm and 
shortly after his house burned down. Under his conditions it 
would have been practically impossible for him to meet this bur- 
den without the help of the hens. With that annual poultry in- 
come of $400 or $500 back of him he was able to go right 
ahead. The house shown in Fig. 1 was built and furnished en- 
tirely with hen money. There is not a better farm house in 
the township, and all debts have been paid off. This has been 
done with no special strain and in spite of a big handicap in 
marketing. The farm is located ten miles from market and on 
a bad road so that the farmer is not able to market his eggs to 
advantage, selling entirely in the local market. 

The story of his success is, in varying degree, duplicated in 
thousands of farm homes. And with such illustrations all around 
us it is unaccountable that we are so slow to awaken to the 
possibilities of the larger development of farm flocks. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF LARGER FARM 
FLOCKS. 

According to the figures given in the last census the average 
farm flock numbers 53 fowls, and while there is no question 
but that these flocks are paying there is equally no room to doubt 
that our farmers are realizing only a small part of the income that 
is possible, because of the fact that a flock of 53 fowls is too small 
be economically managed. As to a producer of income it is an ab- 
surdity. In no other industry is there so wide a margin between 
the prices received for fancy products and those of ordinary market 
grade, and as in all other lines of production the largest profits are 
always in the better grades. The production of fancy poultry 
products is easily within the reach of every producer, because in 
the last analysis it is simply a matter of getting the product to 
market while strictly fresh. 

Practically all eggs are fancy eggs when they are first laid. 
It requires no special skill, ability or knowledge to produce eggs 
of highest grade, nor is there any difficulty in getting fancy 
prices for them on the market, while they are in this class. To 
do this, however, requires prompt marketing, which is out of the 
(question where small flocks only are kept. Hence the daily 
production of the average farm flock is too small to be marketed 
economically except at relatively long intervals. Farm eggs 
are of notoriously poor quality, not because they were not as 
good originally as the best that ever go to market, but because 
they have been held so long and have so deteriorated with 
age that their value in the market is only a fraction of their 
original value. 

Why Farm Eggs are Cheap. 
In the summer of 1911, when the best eggs were bringing 25 
cents a dozen in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia wholesale mar- 
kets, eggs were selling in central Missouri at two and three cents 
a dozen, and considering their condition that was about all 
they were worth; and yet these eggs were originally as good as 
the 25-cent eggs in the city and could have been marketed in 
prime condition at a cost of a few cents, if the individual grower 
had had eggs enough to make it an object for him to put them 
on the market while they were still fresh. Not ail of this dif- 
ference, it is true, can be charged directly to the small size 
of farm flocks. Something should, at least, be charged to care- 
lessness and indifference. But the fact remains that Missouri 
farmers were not producing enough eggs to induce them to make 

7 



8 CHICKEN MONEY 

proper efforts to get them into market in prime condition. As 
a result they had to dispose of the eggs through the ordinary 
channel of huckster and country store-keeper, with delays all along 
the line, and the result was a thoroughly disgraceful condition. 

Again, in December, 1911, eggs were bringing 45 and 60 
cents a dozen in the Pittsburgh market, while within 100 miles of 
Pittsburgh eggs were selling from the farm at 20 cents a dozen. 
In this case it was not a matter of quality, it was simply 
a matter of marketing. The farmers were producing so few eggs 
that it was not worth their while to give any attention to market- 
ing, and they sold them for what they could get at their doors. 
It is safe to say that the average farmer can increase the market 
price of his eggs 25 per cent and possibly more by giving a little 
attention to the marketing. But in order to do that he must have 
eggs enough to sell to make it worth his while to meet the re- 
quirements of the markets. He must get into these markets 
while his products are fresh enough to meet their conditions. 

The farmer who will increase the size of his flock so that he 
is in a position to meet the demand of discriminating consumers 
and who will give some thought to the proper marketing of his 
product will be able to secure high prices for all the eggs he 
can produce. 

What has been said regarding farm eggs applies with equal 
force to market poultry. The possibilities in the way of develop- 
ing a high-priced market for table poultry are scarcely dreamed of 
as yet. While we persist in marketing the tough, greasy old hens 
and stringy, staggy cockerels which represent the bulk of the 
poultry found in our markets today we may expect the consumer 
to continue buying only in the most limited way. The consumers 
of poultry, however, are not eating half the number of fowls that 
they would if the quality of those offered in the market were what 
consumers have a right to expect. Here again larger flocks are 
indicated. The owner of the average farm flock has not enough 
fowls to sell to make this subject of any interest to him. 

Another important argument in favor of larger farm flocks is the 
fact that it is not possible to manage a small flock as efficiently or 
as economically as a large one. It takes practically as much time to 
care for the average flock of 53 fowls as it does to care for 200, and 
one of the most important steps that can be taken, and the step that 
must be taken before farm poultry keeping is on a really practical 
basis, is to increase very decidedly the size of the farm flock. The 
average farm flock ought to be 200 instead of 53 and there is no good 
reason why this average should not be quickly attained. The 
writers on poultry topics who are constantly advising people to go 
slow in going into the poultry business ought to make an exception 
in the case of the farmers who have comparatively little to risk 
by a decided increase in the size of their flocks but who have 
much to gain, and for whom an increase in the flock is the only 



CHICKEN MONEY 




Figure 1 — A Home Paid for by Hens 




^Figure 2 — The Wrong Kind of a Hen House 



CHICKEN MONEY 




Figure 3 — Better than no House 




Figure 5 — Open Front House, Without Curtain or Glass 



CHICKEN MONEY 9 

practical thing. The man who has had no experience in the poul- 
try business or in any other line of agriculture does need to be 
cautioned against going into the business too rapidly, but the rea- 
sons for this are not reasons which in any way touch the farmer. 
I want to discuss this subject, therefore, on the basis of a 
200-hen flock. Every farmer who keeps chickens for eggs or for 
the production of market poultry must have that number in order 
to manage his business with any real efficiency. With 200 hens 
his egg production during the most of the year will be large 
enough to enable him to ship in regular market cases at intervals 
of a few days, which will make it possible for him to get in touch 
with consumers who call for the highest quality of eggs and will 
open up to him a market that will always be a closed door to 
those with small flocks. He will also have enough surplus stock 
to dispose of as table poultry to make it worth while to specially 
fatten it and put it on the market in prime condition. 

Extensive Methods for Farms. 

Of the two systems of poultry keeping, known as extensive 
and intensive, without any question the extensive system, which 
means giving the fowls open range, is much better adapted to 
farm conditions. While it is always desirable to have a small 
yard attached to the poultry house, to which fowls may be con- 
fined for short periods when special conditions make it desirable, 
during much the greater part of the year the fowls should have 
free range over the farm. It is only by doing this that the farmer 
is able to utilize fully his resources, reducing the cost of pro- 
duction and escaping a host of difficulties that accompany more 
intensive methods. The farmer who yards his fowls throws away 
practically all his special advantages and puts himself in direct 
competition with the specialist, the last thing that he can afford 
to do. 

The danger of injury to field crops, which is usually mentioned 
in connection with the discussion of open range for fowls, is not 
a serious one if the fowls are properly fed. Most cases of crop 
damage attributed to fowls are due to the fact that they are insuf- 
ficiently fed. Fowls that have enough to eat will do little damage 
to growing crops except possibly at seeding and harvest time, when 
they may be confined to small yards for a short period without 
injury. 



CHAPTER III. 

BREEDS. 

The question of the breed that should be kept on the 200- 
hen plant is one that cannot be definitely answered because it 
depends to some extent upon the precise line of production which 
the individual may have in mind, and more upon his personal pref- 
erence. The only practical answer that can be given to the 
question which is continually asked as to what breed is best for 
the farmer is, "The one you like best." Contrary to general belief 
there is no special difference in the productive capacity of the 
common and more popular breeds. In the egg contests which have 
been carried on in this country and in Australia the best records 
have been secured by flocks representative of so many breeds that 
it ought to be clear by this time that egg production is almost 
wholly a matter of strain and of adaptation of methods to the 
peculiarities of the different breeds. Given proper care and atten- 
tion Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds, Orpingtons 
and Leghorns will all approximate the same general level of pro- 
duction. But while this is true it is also true that some breeds 
are more easily managed than others and are better adapted to 
ordinary conditions of care and feeding. 

The first real interest manifested in the poultry business 
in this country dates back to 1840 and 1850, when extensive im- 
portations of fowls of the Asiatic class were made. These fowls 
were the progenitors of our present Cochin, Light Brahma and 
Langshan breeds, and attracted a great deal of interest and awak- 
ened a great deal of enthusiasm. It was found, however, that their 
great size, profuse feathering and sluggish disposition did not at 
all fit them for the conditions of ordinary farm or commercial 
poultry keeping and other breeds were subsequently originated, now- 
known as general-purpose breeds, which were expected to accom- 
plish what it was found the Asiatics could not. They were to be 
good table fowls and producers of large numbers of market eggs, 
and in a measure they realized this expectation. The character- 
istics of these general-purpose breeds are essentially similar. They 
make good table fowls, with proper handling they produce large 
numbers of eggs, and are by far the most popular with the average 
poultryman. I believe, however, that one cause which has oper- 
ated to retard the development of the poultry industry of the 
country, and to keep the farm flock down to the low average of 5'i 
fowls, has been the overwhelming popularity of general-purpose 
breeds. It has carried with it, either necessarily or by preference. 
the hatching and brooding of chickens by natural means, small 

10 



CHICKEN MONEY 11 

flocks, and laborious methods of feeding and management. I ques- 
tion whether it will be possible to greatly increase the average, or 
in other words to reach the ideal of 200 hens for the farm flock, 
until the so-called egg-laying breeds are adopted generally in place 
of the larger breeds which are now the favorites. 

Without going into a general discussion of breeds, which is en- 
tirely outside the province of this work, I should like to de- 
scribe the general characteristics of the breeds which are most in 
popular favor. For the farm flock the Asiatics, or the Light Brah- 
mas, Cochins and Langhans, are for one reason or another, out of 
the question. These breeds have many points of merit which com- 
mend them to fanciers and to producers of market poultry, but 
the difficulty of managing them successfully in large flocks is such 
as to make them impracticable on the average farm. The Ply- 
mouth Rocks have held their popularity through half a century, 
and there must be some good reason for this. They are large, 
fairly easily bred if high quality is not sought, and with proper 
handling they are excellent layers. Of all our dual-purpose 
breeds, however, the Plymouth Rock is the slowest in maturing, 
requiring from seven to eight months to reach full development 
and profitable production, which makes winter-laying pullets prac- 
tically out of the question. To secure such it is necessary to resort 
to early hatching, which is only possible by the use of incubators 
and brooders, and few farmers with small flocks are provided with 
these. The Barred Plymouth Rock is characterized by unusual 
weight or development in the rear, a characteristic which 
results in an unusual tendency toward the accumulation of internal 
fat, and which has a great deal to do with the difficulty of keeping 
fowls of this breed in good condition. Largely because of this 
fact, which was observed early in the history of the breed, the 
Wyandottes were originated and as compared with Plymouth Rocks 
are blockier in form, reach maturity at least a couple of weeks 
sooner, are less disposed to accumulate internal fat and for that 
reason are more easily cared for and likely to give better results 
when fed on the grains usually produced on the farm. 

Sixty years ago in what is known as the Little Compton Dis- 
trict of Rhode Island the farmers of that section began to de- 
velop a general-purpose breed according to their own ideas, and 
the result of the consistent development of certain characteristics 
is represented in what we now know as the Rhode Island Reds. 
This breed reaches the same size as the Wyandotte, is longer in 
body, contains some Leghorn blood, reaches maturity at least two 
weeks earlier than the Wyandotte and is fully as productive. In 
a general way this breed is excellently adapted to farm conditions, 
but is subject to the objection that the type and color of the breed 
are far from being well established and without careful breeding 
it is likely to deteriorate rapidly on the farm. The fowls of this 



12 CHICKENMONEY 

breed do not make as good table fowls nor do they make as attrac- 
tive an appearance as do the other general-purpose breeds just 
mentioned. 

In recent years the Orpingtons have sprung rapidly into prom- 
inence and popularity. They are good producers of eggs and where 
white legs and white skin are not objectionable make excellent 
table fowls. So long as the general market prefers yellow-skinned 
fowls, however, the farmer can well afford to go slow in adopting 
a breed possessing the superficial characteristics of The Orpington. 

The Leghorns belong to the general class known as the egg- 
laying type, not necessarily because they lay more eggs than the 
other breeds but because they have little value for any other pur- 
pose and because they produce eggs at lower feed cost, and can 
be kept in larger flocks and managed with less labor and with less 
skill than any of the other breeds. East of the Hudson River the 
general-purpose breeds are more common, apparently because the 
Boston market demands brown-shelled eggs. West of the Hudson 
River practically all large successful poultry farms are stocked 
with Leghorns. The Leghorn is preeminently the commercial 
egg-grower's breed. Leghorns may be kept in flocks of several 
hundred, may be fed from hoppers and in various ways the labor 
of caring for them may be simplified as compared with the larger 
breeds, and without question eggs may be produced more 
cheaply. Whether the farm flock should be composed of Leghorns 
or of some of our general-purpose breeds will depend to some 
extent upon the personal preference of the farmer, and also 
upon whether he expects to make the production of market 
poultry an important part of his business. There is no question 
about the fact that there are in most localities splendid oppor- 
tunities for the development of markets for high-class table 
poultry, which may easily be made as profitable as egg 
production, and in that case the general-purpose breeds will of 
course be much more satisfactory. But if egg production is to be 
the chief source of income, and if no special attention is to be 
given to developing the trade in market poultry, it is hard to un- 
derstand why any breed but Leghorns should be preferred for the 
purpose. The feed cost of egg production will run 25 per cent 
greater with the larger breeds, and the labor cost will be much 
greater as well. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE POULTRY HOUSE. 

With our ideal of a 200-hen flock in mind two poultry houses 
should be provided, with a capacity of 100 each. It will seldom 
be found practicable to renew the entire laying flock each year, 
the usual plan being to select from the hens on hand enough of 
the best individuals one or two years old to make up about one- 
half the flock, the remainder being replaced with early-hatched 
pullets. While there is probably no objection to keeping 200 Leg- 
horn hens in one flock (some commercial plants have as high as 
1,000 or 1,500 in a single flock), it is not desirable that pullets and 
hens should be kept together, as they require somewhat different 
treatment, and separate houses should be provided. A house suit- 
able for 100 to 125 hens should have about 400 square feet of floor 
space. 

No hard or fast rules can be laid down for poultry house 
construction. Much depends upon the location, the breed kept, the 
size of the flock, the amount of liberty the fowls will have and the 
personal preferences of the owner. There are, however, some 
general considerations which should be carefully weighed because, 
in a way, they represent the summing up of the practical experi- 
ence of our most successful poultrymen. The plans shown in 
Fig. 4 provide very satisfactory conditions for a farm poultry 
house. This house is designed to provide winter accommodations 
for a flock of 100 hens of general purpose breeds or 125 of Leg- 
horns if desired. This number may be further increased in summer 
if necessary, when the fowls are out on range. It is 16 x 24 feet, 
7 feet high in front and 5 in the rear, with a roof of uneven span 
and with doors and windows arranged as indicated in the diagram. 
The plan of this house may be modified to meet various conditions, 
but changes should be made with care. The poultryman has found 
that, in a general way, the height of the house front should be 
about one-half the depth, to admit sunlight to the rear of the 
room. The glass should be proportioned to the floor space, provid- 
ing about one square foot of glass to 15 square feet of floor space. 
It will be noticed further that this design provides for a muslin 
shutter three and one-half feet by eight, a feature which is in- 
dispensable in the proper lighting and ventilation of the modern 
poultry house. It seems necessary to advise against going to 
extremes in the matter of the open front, a marked tendency at 
present, and from which it would seem there is bound to be a 
reaction. Hen comfort is a different matter from human comfort, 
and fowls will be entirely comfortable at relatively low tempera- 

13 



14 



CHICKEN MONEY 



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CHICKEN MONEY 15 

tures if protected from storms, draughts, dampness and great 
extremes in temperature. There is nothing, however, to be gained 
by exposing hens to outdoor temperatures when the thermometer is 
at or below zero. It is true that houses with entire open fronts may 
be built in such a way as to keep the hens fairly comfortable. 
Usually, however, this is done by reducing the height of the front 
to such a point that sunlight cannot penetrate to more than one-half 
the depth of the house, which necessitates admitting sunlight from 
the east and the west. Fig. 5 illustrates such a house with a 
front four feet high. If built 10 x 16 it will accommodate 40 fowls. 
There are no curtains to bother with, the front being left open at 
all times. This style of construction is perhaps not objectionable, 
but is impracticable in houses with more than one compartment. 
The type of house illustrated in either Fig. 4 or Fig. 6 is better 
adapted to average farm conditions and farm needs than any other 
type of house that has been thoroughly tried out. It is not prac- 
ticable to increase the width of the house beyond 16 feet without 
adding disproportionately to the expense. It may be built nar- 
rower if desired, in which case a shed roof may be used instead 
of a roof of uneven span; but all the proportions and outlines of 
the house here illustrated have been worked out with great care, 
and unless there is some special reason for modifying the plan the 
house should be built as here indicated. 

A complete bill for lumber and material is appended, and the 
house can be built with a dirt floor for $86 where lumber can be 
secured at the prices quoted in the estimate. A substantial board 
floor can be added at a cost of $22.50. A concrete floor with a 
solid six-inch concrete foundation can be laid at a cost of about 
$20, with concrete figured at 12 cents the cubic foot. In localities 
where cheaper material can be secured this house can be built for 
much less than the amounts mentioned above. 

A House for Fifty Hens. 

If it is desired to build smaller houses the one shown in 
Fig. 7 is recommended. It is designed to accommodate 50 hens. 
It is seldom desirable to build houses over 12 feet in width 
with shed roofs. A greater width than this demands inside 
supports, which interfere with daily work to a marked degree. 
A bill for lumber and materials is appended. At the prices quoted 
this house can be built with a dirt floor for about $50. A board 
floor will cost $13 additional. A cement floor with solid concrete 
wall can be added for $15. 

Other houses in practical use are illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. 

The poultry house should be located on a well-drained spot 
with a southern exposure and in a sheltered position if possible, 
but should be placed with reference to other buildings, so that the 



16 



CHICKEN MONEY 




C3 aj 






CHICKEN MONEY 




Figure 6 — House for Fifty Hens — Brooder House in Summer 

This is a photo of two houses built on the plan given in Figure 7. In this case the 

houses are used as brooder houses. For description 

of the use of the house see page 15 




Figure 8— House for 100 Hens on an Ohio Farm 



CHICKEN MONEY 




Figure 9— Open Front House with Hood 




Figure II — Portable Colony House— Used as Brooder House in Spring 



CHICKENMONEY 17 

fowls may be cared for along with the other stock of the farm, 
avoiding as far as possible the necessity for special trips to the 
hen house. The house may be built very cheaply of rough lumber 
and covered with roofing paper, or ordinary grooved siding may be 
used and the house painted. If the lumber has to be bought at 
usual prices it will be found that the use of grooved siding is 
more economical than the use of rough lumber to be covered with 
roofing paper, while the building presents a much more attractive 
appearance and is more permanent and durable. The roof should 
be of a good grade of prepared roofing paper. Avoid the use of 
ordinary tarred roofing because of its lack of durability. 

Floors. 

The floor of the poultry house will be determined to some 
extent by the general location of the building. A dirt floor is 
always cheapest, and when it is raised above the ground level and 
thoroughly well drained it is a very satisfactory floor. However, 
the labor of removing the top dirt and refilling once a year, which 
ought by all means to be done, is an objection to this type of floor, 
as is also the fact that rats are likely to burrow in it. A concrete 
floor may be used under conditions in which a dirt floor would 
not be practicable, but if used it should be thoroughly insulated, 
as otherwise it will be cold and damp. The insulation is best 
effected by spreading between the concrete and the cement top- 
ping a layer of tarred felt, which completely prevents the water 
from rising from below. Insulation may also be secured by placing 
the cement floor on a filling of stone, gravel or sand. Care must be 
taken, however, to exclude rats which find such conditions exactly 
suited to their use. Under many conditions, however, a board 
floor is found to be most satisfactory. This is especially true in 
damp locations, where it is sometimes difficult to get good results 
until the floor of the house has been raised two or more feet above 
the ground level in order to insure dryness. 

Portable Houses. 

In addition to the laying houses there should be provided 
two or three portable colony houses of the type indicated in 
Fig. 10. These portable houses, to be used for brooding 
chicks and at various times through the year for the care 
of surplus stock, are really indispensable. If we are going to 
develop profitable business flocks on our farms, there must be 
proper conveniences provided and an opportunity to do the work 
as efficiently as possible, and the nondescript, miscellaneous brood- 
ing equipment on the average farm should have no place where 
the poultry business is viewed as a practical, money-making propo- 
sition. These portable houses, if built of light-weight lumber, like 
white pine or poplar, can be hauled from place to place with a 



18 



CHICKEN MONEY 




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CHICKENMONEY 19 

team, and should be moved frequently during the year so that the 
fowls will have clean ground. This is of special importance when 
young chickens are being brooded. These brooder houses are most 
conveniently utilized with adjustable hovers of the Universal type, 
four of which may be placed in one house, as indicated in 
Pig. 11, using movable partitions to separate the flocks during 
the first two or three weeks of their lives, after which the partitions 
may generally be removed. 

Three of these houses will furnish accommodations for all 
the chickens that need be raised to keep up a 200-hen flock if 
brooders are used, and the temporary make-shift coops, boxes and 
outdoor brooders which litter the present farmyard should be dis- 
posed of. This will add very greatly to the efficiency with which 
the work may be accomplished. The matter of appearance in this 
connection needs more than passing mention. There is absolutely 
no necessity for the disreputable appearance of the average farm 
poultry plant, with its junk pile of odds and ends which have been 
given over to the poultry because no other use can be found 
for them. The poultry business is sufficiently profitable to war- 
rant the provision of decent quarters for the stock and convenient 
facilities for carrying on the work. The poultry yard, instead of 
being an eyesore, ought to be as attractive and as neat as any 
other part of the farm, and it may be so with a little forethought 
given to planning the equipment and spending a reasonable amount 
of money. 

Poultry House Furnishings. 

The keynote of the poultry house interior should be simplicity. 
Practically the only essentials are perches and nests, though some 
other things may be added to reduce labor or waste when special 
occasion demands. The perches should be of two by four material, 
suspended on wires or supported by cross strips. The perches 
should be placed edgewise, with the top corners rounded off. It 
Is desirable to have the perches smoothly planed. Seven to ten 
inches of perch room should be provided for each hen, and the 
perches should be about three feet from the floor and at the rear 
of the house, or along the north wall. This wall should be 
absolutely tight, and it is safer to line the wall immediately back 
of the perches with roofing so that there shall not be any 
possible chance of draught on the fowls while on the perches. 

A dropping platform is not a necessity, but is preferred by 
many and is included in the plans given. Houses without dropping 
platforms require more frequent cleaning and use more litter, but 
probably save a good deal of time in the long run, as if dropping 
platforms are provided they must be cleaned frequently. Nests 
should be provided in the proportion of about one nest to every 
five or six hens. The style illustrated in Fig. 16 is convenient and 



20 CHICKEN MONEY 

practical. They should be made about twelve inches wide and 
from thirteen to fifteen inches from front to rear and an eight-inch 
board used for the front. Nests may be located under the dropping 
platform if one is used, but there is less danger from lice if the 
nests are kept entirely apart from the roosting quarters. 

While there is a good deal of loss from breakage in the winter 
time even with the best of care, water vessels of earthenware are 
the most satisfactory of the cheaper vessels available. A coop for 
confining broody hens should be provided at every house. This 
may be built in at one end of the perches, but on account of the 
danger from lice is better located entirely outside the house. 



CHAPTER V. 

BREEDING STOCK. 

While the farm flocks of the country are generally of mixed 
breeding or no breeding at all, and in spite of this fact have aston- 
ished the country by the magnitude of the total value of the product, 
there is no doubt that the introduction of pure-bred poultry marks 
the beginning of really profitable poultry farming for the individual 
breeder. I do not believe that the mongrel farm flock is unprofit- 
able, because the statistics of the industry in the country at large 
clearly prove that it is profitable. Nevertheless, the possibilities 
of the pure-bred flock are so much greater than the possibilities 
of the ordinary flock that there is no excuse for continuing to breed 
the latter. Doubtless extravagant claims are made for various 
breeds, and particularly for the so-called egg-laying strains, but 
there is no question about the fact that the careful breeder of pure- 
bred utility stock is able to furnish fowls that will mature more 
quickly, lay more eggs or reach greater size in a given time than 
will common stock. 

It is only necessary to consider the results of the great egg- 
laying contest carried on by The National Stockman and Farmer 
a number of years ago to find ample proof for this statement, as 
far as it relates to egg production. In this contest were flocks 
representing nearly all the popular breeds as well as many flocks 
of good grade and mongrel stock, the latter never at any time 
making a particularly good showing. One of the most important 
advantages in the possession of pure-bred stock is the effect on 
the owner himself. There are few men who take a tithe of the 
interest in common stock that they do in pure-bred animals, and 
many a man's real interest in farming or stock growing dates from 
his acquisition of purebred cows, horses, pigs or poultry. The 
well-bred poultry flock operates more or less directly on the sym- 
pathy of the owner so that the housing, food and care that seem 
good enough for the barnyard fowl are seen to be clearly inadequate 
when better stock directs more attention to these things. As a 
result pure-bred flocks usually have a better chance and the results 
are correspondingly better. Quite probably the superior results 
often secured with pure-bred flocks are due as much to this better 
care and attention as to the stock itself. Whatever the cause may 
be, however, the fact remains that a pure-bred flock is almost 
invariably a better money-maker than the scrub flock — and that 
is reason enough. 

Two Strings to the Bow. 

Even if the pure-bred flock were not any better from a produ- 
cing point of view than the common flock, the opportunity to sell 

21 



22 CHICKENMONEY 

eggs for hatching and stock for breeding at double or twice double 
the ordinary market value opens up unusual opportunities for 
additional profit, and no one who is in the poultry business for 
profit can afford to ignore or neglect them. It is not necessary, 
nor desirable perhaps, that the average breeder should have 
the show-room in view. There is a growing demand for 
just good stock, suitable for foundation stock for farm and com- 
mercial poultry plants, where the extremes of the show-room 
are of no consequence. This does not justify the purchase or 
breeding of low-grade stock, as, for example, the culls from the 
yards of the show-room breeder. Just as every farm flock should 
be pure-bred, so every pure-bred flock should be well bred. One 
of the most important things to be settled in our minds in buying 
foundation stock is the fact that good stock can be secured only 
by paying the price. Our general standard of prices for commercial 
breeding stock is entirely too low. Only under exceptional condi- 
tions can one buy cheap birds that are worth breeding from. Good 
prices must be paid if a reasonably high standard is maintained. 

Day-Old Chicks. 

The man who has decided to invest in pure-bred poultry is 
confronted with the problem of how to invest his money to the 
best advantage and to secure the quickest returns. A great many 
are starting by buying day-old chicks, and often this seems 
to be the most satisfactory way to start. No chances need be 
taken with hens that will not sit nor with incubators that may 
not hatch well. On the other hand, the buyer of day-old chicks 
takes something of a chance in buying, especially early in the 
season, as many shipments of chicks get caught in changing 
weather while enroute and are injured and weakened before they 
reach the purchaser's hands. It is unfortunate also that many 
breeders and incubator operators are selling day-old chicks at 
prices too low to warrant furnishing stock of the grade that ought 
to go into breeding pens. So long as the purchaser understands 
what he is getting there can be no objection to this. Excellent lay- 
ing stock may be raised from chicks bought at 10 to 15 cents each, 
but they are not of the grade that we ought to get for breeding 
purposes. The purchaser should realize that in the purchase of 
day-old chicks, as in other things, he is not going to get more than 
he pays for. Breeders are not, as a rule, selling day-old chicks 
from their best pens at low rates. It is only the cheaper stock 
that is utilized in this low-priced trade. 

Buying Eggs for Hatching. 

Where money for the venture is limited, probably the best 
way to start under present conditions is to buy eggs for hatching. 
There are often special reasons why eggs from very good stock 



CHICKEN MONEY 23 

are selling at low prices, but generally it is necessary to pay what 
seems like an extravagant price to be sure of getting just what one 
wants. The modest few-line advertisements often announce eggs 
from flocks of small or unknown breeders who have stock of excel- 
lent breeding and at half the price of similar quality from breeders 
of established reputation. Except in such instances, however, and 
when buying without personal knowledge of the stock, it is better 
to pay several dollars a sitting than to lose the opportunity of 
an entire season through false economy. It is well to buy from 
those breeders who are at no great distance from the buyer's 
home. Eggs usually suffer more or less from long shipment, and 
hatches from eggs purchased from nearby breeders are much more 
likely to be satisfactory. 

Buying Breeding Stock. 

A quicker and more expensive method of getting a start is to 
purchase a trio or a breeding pen from which the buyer can produce 
his own eggs for hatching. He may in this way know more about 
what he is getting. The mere fact that one has paid $5 a sitting 
for eggs is no guaranty that the chicks hatched will be good 
breeders when they are raised. We often have the experience 
of buying eggs for hatching at long prices only to find when the 
chickens have matured that they are useless as breeders. This 
is not always the fault of the breeder. He cannot know 
certainly what is going to be the result of a mating, and it 
often happens that his matings, made in the best of faith, do not 
"nick" and he has lost an entire year and perhaps his reputation 
as well. The buyer of a breeding pen has this same risk 
to take, but at least he has a better chance to see what he is 
getting. On account of the expense, trouble and uncertainty 
associated with establishing a pure-bred flock by either method, 
many take the alternative of buying pure-bred males each year and 
mating with their original mixed or mongrel flock and gradually 
grading it up. This is a cheap and quick way of securing improve- 
ment, but it never results in securing a really pure-bred flock. While 
it is often practicable to grade up the general commercial flock in 
this way it should be looked upon only as a temporary expedient 
and every effort should be made to put the entire flock on a pure- 
bred basis as promptly as possible. 

The Fallacy of Cross-Breeding. 

A common and curious fallacy among many is that while pure- 
bred fowls should be secured for the flock it is better to cross- 
breed on the commercial farm than to stick to the same breed all 
the time. It is true that sometimes surprising results are secured 
by crossing breeds. It is also true that the advantage is 
temporary and the ultimate effect on the cross-bred flock is to 



24 CHICKBNMONEY 

lose all uniformity of characteristics, and the last state of that 
flock is worse than its first. It is a fair presumption that whatever 
advantages may arise temporarily from cross-breeding are due to 
the introduction of new blood into a neglected or inbred flock, a 
result which could probably be secured just as well by the use of 
unrelated males of the same breed, leaving the flock still unim- 
paired from a breeding point of view. 

The breeder who has been fortunate in securing his foundation 
stock is confronted with the problem of how to maintain the high 
quality which he may have secured and at the same time avoid 
the dangers of inbreeding on the one hand and on the other the 
danger of losing all that he has gained by the introduction of 
new blood which may not be as good as his own besides adding 
greatly to the expense of keeping up his flock by continual pur- 
chases. It should be understood that while inbreeding is not a 
matter which can be trifled with, and in the hands of inexperi- 
enced breeders is likely to result in deterioration, it is not true that 
inbreeding is in itself injurious, and with proper care to avoid the 
use of any but the strongest and most vigorous specimens in the 
breeding pen, inbreeding may be used to a considerable extent in 
the improvement of the flock without in any way injuring it. The 
usual objection to the purchase of high-grade males is that when 
their usefulness is limited to a single season it is not practical 
to pay the prices that are now being asked for really desirable 
breeders. For this reason the breeder should rather make up his 
mind to follow inbreeding to the extent, at least, of keeping good 
male birds for two or three years, and by thus increasing their 
period of usefulness be able to afford better stock than will be 
practicable if new males are purchased each year. 

Farm Breeding. 

While the extreme development of show points demanded 
for winners does not need to concern the farm breeder, he should 
have a clear conception of the special characteristics which 
are associated with the fowls which he is breeding, and he should 
study poultry breeding problems as seriously, at least, as he studies 
the breeding of his sheep, hogs or cows. Skill is a matter of ex- 
perience and time, and it is entirely outside the province of this 
work to give specific instructions along this line. 

Of almost equal importance is the study of the more practical 
problems connected with breeding, such as constitutional vigor and 
the proper feeding and management of the breeding stock. Under 
the conditions which characterize most commercial plants the con- 
stitutional vigor of our fowls needs careful attention. The constant 
tendency among most, breeders is toward deterioration in this re- 
spect, and the continual complaints of losses in breeding stock, poor 
hatches and the appalling prevalence of chick diseases are all 



CHICKEN MONEY 




Figure 12 — Portable Brooder Houses— Heated by Coal Stoves. From 300 to 500 Chicks 
are Brooded in One Flock in Each House 




Figure 13— Portable Colony Houses— Used as Laying Houses in Winter, 
and Brooder Houses in Spring 



CHICKEN MONEY 




Figure 14 — Portable Brooder Houses 




Figure 15— Colony Houses Used in South Shore Districft, Mass. 



CHICKENMONEY 25 

largely due to lack of attention to the constitutional vigor of our 
flocks. At the beginning of the breeding season all the fowls that 
are to go into the breeding flock should be carefully examined, 
and those which show any indication of physical weakness should 
be removed, regardless of their desirability in other respects. 
Fowls with dull eyes, pale combs, flat, narrow breasts, unusually 
long legs or necks, narrow faces, hawk-like bills, awkward in 
their carriage, unsteady on their legs or presenting any indica- 
tions of weakness or lack of vigor such as would be apparent to 
any breeder on a careful examination, are not birds that should 
be continued in the breeding pen. Neither should any fowls be 
included in the breeding pen that have ever given any indication 
of weakness or lack of thrift at any time either as chicks or adults, 
regardless of how they may appear at the time the breeding pen 
is b<?ing selected. The females in the flock should be one and 
two-year-old hens rather than pullets, since the latter are likely 
either to be immature in development or perhaps have been laying 
all through the winter and are not in fit condition for breeding. 

The management of the breeding flock through the winter 
season should be entirely different from that of the laying flock. 
The ration should be less forcing in its nature, should consist 
largely of whole grains, and as much exercise as possible should 
be secured by scattering all grains in deep litter, so that practically 
all of the feed must be worked for. Exercise, green food, a thor- 
oughly well-ventilated house and as much range as the weather 
will permit are all important aids to securing high physical condi- 
tion, which is an absolute essential in the breeding flock. As the 
hatching season approaches a regular laying ration may be fed, 
but forcing rations should be avoided at all times. It has been 
found by repeated experiments, both with fowls and with other 
classes of livestock, that the presence of a considerable proportion 
of corn in the ration is conducive to high fertility and vitality. 
It is important, however, to see that the hens are not over- 
fat, and with some breeds it is necessary to limit the corn to 
a comparatively small part of the ration, though it can be fed 
freely to any flock if the hens are compelled to take plenty of 
exercise. The fertility of eggs will usually be at its highest point 
early in the spring, shortly after the fowls can have access to 
yards or range, when the grass is beginning to grow, and before 
the fowls have been exhausted by long laying. 

Usually March and April are the best months for hatching, 
particularly with general-purpose breeds. However, chicks that 
are hatched during the first two weeks of May grow rapidly 
and may, with proper care, reach maturity almost as soon as those 
that are hatched a couple of weeks before. Unless special atten- 
tion is given to breeding, the farm poultryman will usually find 
it most satisfactory to use his entire flock of one and two-year-old 



26 CHICKENMONEY 

hens for breeding, which we are assuming will number about 100, 
or will be left in flocks of that number. For sucb a flock he should 
have about six to eight males and generally will find the results 
more satisfactory than where small breeding flocks are kept 
and mated with single males. 



CHAPTER VI. 

INCUBATION. 

Eggs may be saved for hatching five days after the pens are 
mated and under ordinary conditions should be set as soon as 
possible after they are laid. There is a noticeable decrease 
in the hatchability of eggs that have been kept more than two 
weeks. Eggs may be kept for this length of time in ordinary 
cellars or living rooms, and it is not necessary to give any special 
attention to position or to turning. If they are kept longer than 
two weeks they should be turned daily, and experiments indicate 
that the best results will be secured when the eggs are laid flat 
rather than placed on end. Eggs for hatching should be carefully 
looked over and those that are in any way abnormal in appearance 
should be discarded. Small eggs are seldom desirable for incu- 
bation, as the chicks are not so likely to be strong and vigorous 
as those from medium or larger eggs. No incubator manufacturer 
has yet succeeded in making an incubator that will do better work 
than the sitting hen, and it is entirely practical to use hens for 
hatching chicks in considerable numbers if proper provision is made 
for them. It is not desirable to hatch with hens that are permitted 
to sit where they have laid, as the losses are out of all propor- 
tion to the results secured. If hens are to be used for sitting 
they should be placed in a room devoted exclusively to this purpose 
and provided with convenient nests. Large numbers of hens may 
be set in a single room and the labor of caring for them reduced 
to little if any more than would be required for incubating a similar 
number of eggs in incubators. In the Little Compton District of 
Rhode Island, where every farmer is a poultryman and where 
each one hatches several hundred or even several thousand chicks 
a year, hens are depended on quite generally for hatching. 

A Setting Room. 

The setting room should be provided with convenient nests of 
uniform appearance and size. They are most convenient when 
made in sets of two or three, and if provided with tight bottoms 
may be placed one on top of another, as in accompanying illustra- 
tion. The broody hens should be placed in these nests at night, 
and with a little care will settle down quietly. They should be 
confined to the nests and let off regularly each morning in lots 
of ten or more and returned to their nests in ten to thirty minutes, 
depending on season, stage of hatch and so forth. It is not neces- 
sary that each hen be returned to the same nest. Shelled corn, 

27 



28 CHICKEN MONEY 

water, a little green food and a dusting place constitute all the 
provision that need be made. The hens should be dusted with 
insect powder when set and a couple of times during the hatch. 

Incubators Indispensable. 

Under ordinary conditions, however, the poultryman who is 
keeping a flock of 200 hens or more will find incubators indis- 
pensable, not only as a means of economizing in labor cost, but also 
because it is only by the use of incubators that he can hatch his 
eggs sufficiently early in the season to get winter-laying pullets. 
He can also in this way get the chicks hatched and started before 
the pressure of other spring work has begun. The poultryman or 
farmer who keeps Leghorns must, of course, depend entirely upon 
artificial incubation at all seasons, as Leghorns while not exactly 
non-sitting are so unreliable that it is seldom practical to use them 
for this purpose. 

It is not always an easy matter to learn to operate incubators 
successfully, but the man who is making the poultry industry an 
important part of his work can well afford to give the subject 
the attention that is needed in order to master the art. There are 
many good incubators on the market and choice is largely an indi- 
vidual matter. Most incubator manufacturers are glad to send 
their machines on trial, and it is generally better to buy that way. 
If the incubator selected does not give good results under the 
buyer's conditions it is probably better for him, after having given 
it a fair trial, to return it to the manufacturer and try one of a 
different type. It is common knowledge that individual operators 
get widely different results with different machines under the 
same conditions. 

Generally speaking, large machines are more economically 
managed than small ones, and the man who has a flock of 100 
breeders will not find it advantageous to purchase anything smaller 
than a 200 to 250-egg size. The incubator, however, should not 
be so large that it cannot be filled with eggs under one week 
old. For a 200-hen flock, one 250-egg machine may be sufficient 
if several hatches are made, but the farmer will usually find it 
cheaper in the long run to have two or three machines and hatch 
all the chicks that he needs in two hatches, as it greatly reduces 
the labor cost of raising the chicks after hatching and simplifies 
their care. It is not necessary to provide a separate building 
for the incubators if there is room for them in the house cellar. 
It is important in this connection to examine your insurance policy, 
and be sure that the incubator you buy is acceptable to insurance 
companies or that you have an individual permit from your insur- 
ance company to operate incubators in the cellar. It is not wise 
to operate incubators in a dwelling house without taking this pre- 



CHICKENMONEY 29 

caution. There is not the slightest danger of fire with standard 
makes of incubators if properly run, but it is unwise to risk 
vitiating insurance by operating without a permit. 

Follow Directions. 

Manufacturers of incubators send out comprehensive direct- 
ions for the operation of their own machines, and it is of 
the greatest importance that the operator shall familiarize him- 
self with these directions and follow them with the utmost care. 
Most of the failures to get good results with incubators are di- 
rectly due to the failure to follow directions. There is little need 
to give here general directions for operating machines if the 
operator will follow carefully and painstakingly the directions 
which are supplied with his machine. If he will not do this no 
additional volume of instructions will be of any value to him. In 
case good results are not secured the manufacturer of the incu- 
bator can usually be of more assistance than any one else, and 
he should certainly be consulted first and last in regard to the 
operation of his machine. It may be of some assistance, however, 
to call attention to a few special points that are important in 
successful operation. The chief problems in artificial incubation 
are the proper regulation of temperature, ventilation and mois- 
ture. To a considerable extent all of these matters are the 
manufacturer's problems rather than the operator's. It is abso- 
lutely impossible to take care of either entirely automatically, 
however. In the best machines temperature is quite accurately 
regulated but I should like to call attention to a feature which 
is generally overlooked in connection with this regulation and that 
is the importance of securing the proper average temperature. 

Importance of Corred: Average Temperature. 

It is not enough that the temperature should run uniform 
from morning to night and from night to morning. As a matter 
of fact extreme uniformity is not of any particular importance 
provided that when irregularities do occur they are properly off- 
set by corresponding variations the other way. The incubator 
operator need not be disturbed if his temperature fluctuates one 
or even two degrees on either side of the normal temperature of 103 
which is usually assumed to be the correct average with contact 
thermometers, provided the fluctuation is as much one way as the 
• other. The time spent in turning and in cooling the eggs, and 
the rapidity with which the incubator brings the temperature 
back to 103 after turning or cooling should be taken into account. 
The cause of premature or delayed hatches lies in the operator's 
failure to secure the proper average, so that the total of his heat 
units for the day or the week or for the entire hatch averages 



30 



CHICKEN MONEY 



too low or too high. The proper average can be ascertained 
only by a careful keeping of records, which should include not 
only frequent daily readings but also a statement as to the 
length of time for which the eggs have been cooled and the 
exact time during which the temperature has been above or be- 
low normal. A sheet similar to the sample given herewith 
should be used in keeping a record of each hatch, and will be 
of great value in ascertaining the cause of poor results if such 
are secured. 

DAILY INCUBATOR RECORD. 

Number of Machine Date of Starting 



Day of 


Day of 

Month 


TEMPERATURE 


How long 
Cooled 


Room 
Temp. 




Hatch 


M'ning 


Noon 


Night 


Av'ge 




















In the column headed "Re- 


















day to day that may have any 
bearing on hatch. If tempera- 
ture runs high during day, re- 
cord maximum reading ; if low, 
record lowest, and in each 


































been high or low. Record all 
changes in regulation, adjust- 
















ment of ventilation; and weight 
of eggs if weights are taken to 
determine evaporation. Tem- 
perature readings and turning 
should be absolutely regular. 
If not, all variations should 
be noted in this column. 



































Gauging Evaporation. 

The usual directions for ascertaining the proper amount of 
evaporation provide a verbal description, or a chart showing in 
outline the development of the air cell for certain periods during 
the hatch. The expert operator can usually tell whether or not 
he is securing the proper amount of evaporation by studying the 
size of the air cell with an egg tester, but the beginner will find 
it almost impossible to do this with any accuracy. It is much 
better to determine the evaporation by weight. Eggs should lose 
from 12 to 3 4 per cent of their weight during the first 18 days, 
the amount of evaporation gradually increasing from the begin- 
ning of the hatch to the end. The operator, therefore, who will 
weigh the entire tray or a selected number of eggs and so govern 
the evaporation by the regulation of ventilation or the supply of 
moisture that he gets an evaporation of about three and a half 
per cent during the first six days, four per cent from the sixth 
to the twelfth day and five and one-half per cent from the twelfth to 
the eighteenth day may know without any question that his evap- 
oration is nearly normal. Successful artificial incubation is 
not a particularly difficult matter and depends solely upon regu- 
lar care, faithful attention to all the necessary details of the work, 



CHICKEN MONEY 31 

and if the eggs come from breeding stock that is in vigorous, 
healthy condition there should not be any trouble in getting rea- 
sonably good hatches. It is advisable in all cases where artificial 
incubation is being learned to set at least a few hens at the 
same time the incubator is set and to compare the development 
of the germ and the air cell at intervals during the hatch. 

It is not expected that the incubator will, on the average, give 
as good results as will hens. This is true for various reasons, out- 
side of the mere fact that the incubator is an artificial method; 
but the results will be almost as good if the work has been 
properly done. 

Why Embryos Die on Eighteenth Day. 

The large number of complaints which come from incubator 
operators in regard to chicks dead in the shell indicates that 
there is a general misunderstanding in regard to the conditions 
affecting incubation. The eighteenth to the twentieth day in in- 
cubation is a critical time in the life 01 the embryo and the 
time at which nature settles accounts with us for everything we 
nave done that was wrong, from the mating of the breeding pen 
to the management of the incubator. Eggs may show high fer- 
tility and the embryos apparently have plenty of vigor, and yet 
succumb about the eighteenth day. Low constitutional vigor 
in the breeding pen, improper conditions of feeding and housing, 
holding eggs for too long a period before incubation, exposing 
them to too high or too low temperatures during the same time, 
and failure to follow carefully the various directions given for the 
successful operation of the incubator are all responsible for the 
vieath of large numbers of chicks on and after the eighteenth day. 
The fact that chicks have developed until this time and have then 
died is not therefore any proof that conditions have been right up 
to this point and that something wrong has developed at this 
period of the hatch. In nearly every instance the trouble dates 
back of the eighteenth day. Very frequently, however, the heavy 
losses that ensue from the eighteenth to the twenty-first day may 
be reduced by more care in handling the machine at this time, 
being particularly careful not to allow the temperature to run too 
high or the moisture in the machine too low. Chicks that succeed 
in pipping the shell may often be saved by added moisture, which is 
best supplied in most machines by wringing a woolen or a cotton 
cloth out of hot water and spreading it over the eggs. The presence 
of "stickers" in the machine is often due to insufficient moisture 
during the latter part of the hatch. 



CHAPTER VII. 



BROODING CHICKS. 

While much may be said in favor of hens for hatching, it is 
rarely profitable to depend upon them for brooding chicks when 
considerable numbers are to be raised. The labor cost is out of 
all proportion to whatever advantages may be gained. If hens 
are to be used, however, the provision of a convenient and safe 
brood coop will assist greatly in preventing many of the difficulties 
and losses which generally accompany brooding with hens. The 
coop illustrated in Fig. 20 will be found to be convenient and 




Figure 20— A Handy Brood Coop 

efficient under practically all conditions. This coop is about two 
feet deep, two and a half feet long and two feet high in front. 
It may be built very cheaply by using store boxes or second-hand 
lumber, and when provided with covered runs, also shown in 
illustration, gives excellent results. Do not make the mistake of 
building too cheaply, however. If built of good sound lumber 
they will last a long time and there is real economy in building 
in this way. For use early in the season the upper part of the 
coop front should be provided with a muslin-covered frame, which 
will add greatly to its warmth. The covered run should be about 
four by eight feet, fully fifteen inches high and covered on all sides 
except the bottom with one-inch mesh netting. Chicks and hen 
should be confined to the coop and run for the first month or until 
settled weather. 

Artificial Brooding. 

In raising chickens on a larger scale, however, brooders are 
indispensable. It is hardly worth while to try to maintain a large 

32 



CHICKEN MONEY 




Figure 16— Convenient NesT: for Poultry House 




Figure 17— A Pure-Bred Farm Flock 



CHICKEN MONEY 




Figure 18— A Corner in a Setting Room 







Figure 19— Good Way to Brood Small Lots— Too Laborious for General Work 



CHICKEN MONEY 33 

flock of fowls until you have reason to believe that you can" 
make a success of artificial brooding. The type of brooders in 
general use at present makes this a much simpler matter than it 
was a few years ago, and there is no occasion for failure if reason- 
able care and attention are given to the work. Brooders are pro- 
vided for use both indoors and out, and under some conditions the 
latter is desirable and convenient. In the long run, however, it 
will be found that indoor brooders and colony houses are greatly to 
be preferred to the use of outdoor brooders, and I strongly advise 
adopting the indoor brooder method of handling the flock. For this 
a portable colony house must be provided, and the one shown in 
Fig. 11 is particularly convenient. Such a house, equipped with 
three or four hovers of the Universal or Adaptable type and 
with temporary partitions, will care for 200 to 300 chicks very satis- 
factorily. After the chicks become large enough to cross over the 
partitions these may be removed, and when the chicks no longer 
need heat the hovers may be replaced by perches. A few of these 
houses will be found serviceable all the year round on any farm, but 
their use for laying flocks is not recommended save in emergen- 
cies. Not more than 25 to 35 hens can be properly accommodated 
in a house of this size, which makes the flock too small for practical 
purposes. 

The operator of lamp-heated brooders, should be particularly 
careful to avoid the danger of fire, which must be reckoned 
with no matter what type of brooder is secured. Home- 
made brooders are not to be recommended. The fire risk with 
such is usually extreme, and their use is to be discouraged for 
that reason, if for no other. Brooders should not be located near 
other buildings and particularly should be kept at a safe distance 
from barn or dwelling house, and every care taken to keep the 
lamps clean and in proper working order. 

Lampless Brooders. 

Many are attempting to escape the care of lamps and the 
danger from fire by the use of "lampless" brooders. It is quite 
possible u> use brooders of this class to advantage in emergencies, 
and in warm weather, but the tendency on the part of many to 
substitute cold brooders for heated brooders at all seasons should 
be discouraged as the result of so doing is likely to be disastrous. 
Stunted growth and susceptibility to. disease are common tendencies 
among chicks so brooded. Lowered vitality and loss of constitu- 
tional vigor are almost inevitable. Young chicks need some sup- 
plied heat, and the effort to keep them warm by confining their own 
heat under the hover results generally in insufficient ventilation, 
damp brooders and mouldy hover cloths— each a most prolific source 
of disease. The labor cost of raising chicks in lampless brooders 



34 CHICKENMONEY 

Is even greater than with hens and results are much less satis- 
factory in the long run. 

Feeding Chicks. 

The precise method of feeding young chicks and the choice 
■<it foods is of little importance, comparatively, if the brooding 
and the daily care are what they ought to be. It is the care 
rather than the precise method that counts. Some things, how- 
ever, seem to make success easier than others. It is not neces- 
sary or desirable to feed chicks as soon as they are hatched. 
If you will watch the mother hen you will see that she makes a 
great deal of fuss when food is given, but usually ends by eating 
it all herself — and that is the best thing she could do. At 
the same time it is not well to tie one's self down to the 
xmvarying observance of the rule of never feeding chicks until 
they are 48 hours old, or 72 as some advocate. The safest rule 
is to watch the conduct of the chicks and let them have their 
first feed as soon as they seem to need it, after the first 24 hours. 
The first feeds should always be very small, and the surplus 
should be promptly removed. The simplest and safest food for 
general use for the first two or three days is bread-crumbs slightly 
moistened with water or milk. After a couple of days of this, chick 
food should form at least half of the day's ration. Chick food is a 
commercial preparation put up by various dealers in poultry foods 
and consisting of a number of finely-cracked grains mixed in 
varying proportions. Home-mixing of chick food is practicable. 
A good formula is equal parts of finely-cracked corn, wheat and 
pinhead oats, with very small amounts of hemp, millet, cracked 
Kaffir corn and such other grains as may be available, though it 
is questionable whether there is any real advantage in using any- 
thing in addition to corn, wheat and oats. The average poultryman, 
liowever, will find it difficult to obtain these foods ground 
to proper size and sifted to avoid waste, and will ordinarily be 
able to buy commercial chick food cheaper than he can prepare 
his own mixture and in better condition for use. 

After two or three days bread-crumbs may be omitted and 
various substitutes may be provided. Pone, composed of corn 
meal with a small quantity of bran and middlings, makes an ex- 
cellent substitute for bread. Ordinary corn cakes are sometimes 
used. Rolled oats mixed with a limited amount of hard-boiled egg 
is preferred by many, while a mash of scalded corn meal mixed 
with small quantities of bran and shorts is perhaps as good as 
anything. In the preparation of this mash boiling water should be 
stirred into corn meal until it is mush-like in its consistency, and 
then fine wheat bran and shorts, about one pound of bran to one 
and a half pounds of shorts, should be stirred in until the mixture 
becomes quite stiff and crumbly. Wet mashes should always be 



CHICKEN MONEY 35 

so mixed that no free moisture will be observed when the mash 
is squeezed in the hand. No matter what kind of soft food is used 
not more than half the day's rations should be in this form. Dur- 
ing the first month or six weeks of the chick's life it should have 
four or five feeds a day. The morning and evening feeds should be 
some form of soft food, of which the chicks may be permitted to 
eat all they will in five or ten minutes, after which the surplus 
should be promptly removed. The two mid-day feeds should be 
chick food in litter. There is a number of other rations that 
are as good or possibly better, but these foods are cheap and 
within the reach of every one, and if properly fed will give good 
results. Little and often, nothing mouldy, nothing sour, nothing 
sloppy and nothing to excess will make any feeding system safe 
and successful, without much regard to what is used or the pro- 
portion in which it is fed. 

Feeding Growing Chicks. 

After the chicks have been fed on this ration for four or five 
weeks the chick food may be gradually dropped and cracked corn 
and whole wheat supplied in its stead, thus reducing the cost of 
the ration. During the first month of the chick's life, especially 
if confined to runs or yards, care should be taken not to overfeed. 
As soon as the chicks are able to get out on the range, however, 
they should be fed all they will eat. There is no danger of over- 
feeding an active young chicken, and under ordinary conditions 
after reaching the age of two months it will be found entirely 
practical to use hopper feeding methods with chicks on the range, 
to some extent at least. There are few flocks of growing chicks, 
even on the farm, that will not be benefited by having kept con- 
stantly before them a hopper or low box containing cracked corn, 
dry mash and meat scrap, using the same mash mixture with which 
the laying hens are supplied. Better results will be secured if 
in addition to this hopper feeding one or two daily feeds of wet 
mash and wheat or other grain are also supplied. 

Fed in this way little special care need be given the growing 
chicks after two months of age except to see that their coops are 
kept reasonably clean, that their houses are provided with the 
additional ventilation that will be necessary as the chicks increase 
in size, and to carefully avoid all overcrowding. This is generally 
most conveniently done by separating the sexes and either selling 
the cockerels as broilers or removing them to other quarters. 
If this is done the latter part of the summer, using the colony 
houses of type shown in Fig. 10, each house will comfortably 
accommodate 100 to 125 pullets until they are ready to go to 
laying quarters in the fall. Pullets so treated will grow more rapid- 
ly and begin laying earlier in the fall than is possible when they are 
crowded at night in hot, ill-ventilated brood coops or small brood- 



36 CHICKENMONEY 

ers which they have long outgrown. If Leghorns are being raised 
care should be taken during early fall not to permit the pullets to 
mature too rapidly. If hatched in April it is easily possible to 
bring Leghorn pullets to maturity in September. There is no 
advantage in so doing, however, for after laying a few eggs they 
are likely to moult and will then be non-productive until the 
following spring. 

Feeding for Early Maturity. 

There is little danger of too early maturity with pullefs of 
the dual-purpose breeds unless hatched extremely early. Usually 
it is necessary to give some special attention to feeding for early 
maturity in order to get them laying by the first of November. 
Strictly speaking, feeding for early maturity should mean feed- 
ing for rapid growth and should result in bringing the fowl to 
full size in the shortest possible time. In general practice what 
is meant by the term is not so much rapid growth as feeding 
to check growth. Pullets will not lay while they are growing 
rapidly, but if, when they are well .grown, further development 
is checked by increasing the fattening tendency of the ration and 
by stimulating the egg organs by a considerable proportion of 
animal food they are likely to begin laying quite a little earlier 
than they would normally. This means in practice that the corn 
and other fattening foods which make for fat rather than growth 
are increased, the pullets get plump, and egg laying follows as a 
natural consequence. When the flock is intended solely for the 
production of eggs for market this is a practical method to follow, 
but it would be decidedly objectionable to follow it in the case of 
pullets that were intended for the nezt season's breeding pen. 



CHAPTER VIII, 

FEEDING FOR EGG PRODUCTION 

The poultryman is not able to feed with scientific accuracy 
because the nutrition of fowls has been very imperfectly studied. 
Just because we do not know all that we would like to know, 
however, is no excuse for saying that we know nothing and may 
as well go it blind. Enough careful feeding experiments have 
been made to give us a thoroughly practical basis for planning our 
feeding, which is much better than trying everything out experi- 
mentally. 

The Nutritive Ratio. 

By nutritive ratio is meant the proportion existing in the 
ration between the protein, or flesh-building nutrient, and the 
carbohydrates and fat, or the heat-making nutrients. It may be 
doubted whether the best nutritive ratio for practical feeding has 
been fully determined as yet. Opinions and practice differ widely. 
Much depends on whether the flock is looked upon as a per- 
manent one, or one which may be fed for quick results regardless 
of the ultimate effect of the ration on the health of the flock. 
Probably most feeders are aiming at a nutritive ratio of about 
1:5, running a little wider in the winter and somewhat narrower 
in the summer. This seems a safe ratio for the permanent flock 
if estimated on the basis of crude nutrients rather than the so-called 
digestible nutrients. Not enough is known as to the digestibility 
of the various foods to make it possible to make exact estimates 
on this basis. In any event, the practical feeder has to meet 
a condition as well as a theory, and it is safer to err on the 
side of having the ration a little too wide rather than 
too narrow. Fowls with a fair opportunity to balance their own 
rations rarely make up narrow rations, which would seem to be a 
hint worth taking. 

Taking the values of crude protein, starch and fat as presented 
in the ordinary tables of food analyses, therefore, one pound of 
crude protein to five pounds of carbohydrates and fats raised to 
carbohydrate values, is about the best proportion in which these 
nutrients should be combined in the ration. The usual instructions 
for working out this nutritive ratio, while comparatively simple 
to the experienced feeder, are too complicated for ordinary use, 
and it is plain that we need a simpler and easier method of com- 
puting our rations, so that we may keep closer to the lines that 
have been proved to be safe and practical but without being in- 

37 



38 CHICKEN MONEY 

volved in the complicated calculations necessary in working out 
exact nutritive ratios. 

Feeding by "Total Protein." 

This can be done by abandoning the use of the term "nutritive 
ratio" and estimating our rations on the basis of crude protein 
alone, and this method is adopted in the following discussion of 
feeding. Without taking space to explain how the proper proportion 
has been worked out, it is assumed that the amount of protein 
which a good laying hen of average size will need daily is from .55 
to .65 of an ounce. Repeated tests have shown that laying hen& 
weighing on the average five pounds will consume about four ounces 
of feed daily, and to get the total amount of protein needed in a 
four-ounce ration will require one in which 14 to 16 per cent of the 
total weight is in the form of crude protein. If given the opportun- 
ity to select her own ration from a proper assortment of foods, 
the average laying hen will approximate these proportions. Taking 
15 per cent of crude protein, therefore, as the basis, the computing 
of a trial ration becomes fairly easy. It is desirable that the 
proportion of protein in the ration should not vary widely from 
this figure for practical reasons, though it is probably better to 
err on the side of less rather than more. If the ration carries much 
more protein than this it will be found that the cost is excessive, be- 
cause protein is always our most expensive nutrient, and there is no 
practical advantage in feeding it in a larger proportion than the 
needs of the fowls demand. Excessive feeding of protein long 
continued will be injurious to the health of the fowls. It is some- 
times practical to reduce this proportion, but if it is materially 
reduced the hen, in order to get the weight of protein which she 
needs each day, must consume a much larger total weight of food 
and the increased food consumption makes an unnecessary tax 
upon the digestive organs. 

Crude Fibre. 

Contrary to common belief, the proportion of crude fibre which 
should enter into the ration is decidedly low, but the health and 
efficiency of the hens may be greatly affected by too much or 
too little fibre, or, as it is sometimes expressed, "bulk." The 
proper proportion of crude fibre as ascertained by repeated experi- 
ments is about 3.5 per cent. In ordinary feeding, then, the only 
points that must be carefully reckoned are the percentages of 
protein and crude fibre. 

Computing Rations. 

To illustrate this method of computing rations let us make up 
a simple one, using corn, bran and meat scrap. For ease in making 



CHICKEN MONET 39 

computations trial rations should be in 100-pound lots or multiples 
of 100. If we take a trial ration of 300 pounds of corn, 100 pounds 
of bran and 40 pounds of meat scrap, we shall have a total of 440 
pounds of feed, of which 67 pounds is in the form of crude protein 
and 15 pounds of crude fibre, as shown in the accompanying table: 

Crude protein Crude fibre 

lbs. lbs. lbs. 

Corn 300 30 6 

Bran 100 15 9 

Meat scrap 40 22 — 

Total 440 67 15 

Dividing 67 and 15 by 440 we find that this ration would provide 
15.2 per cent of protein and 3y 2 per cent of crude fibre. A hen 
eating four ounces daily of this ration would get .60 of an ounce 
of protein. The ration given above is not offered as a practical 
ration, but merely as an illustration of how to estimate values 
on the basis suggested, considering simply the proportions of crude 
fibre and protein. There are a few poultrymen, however, who are 
feeding- just about such a ration as this to their flocks and who 
consider it a thoroughly practical one. It does not measure up 
to the ideal ration in many particulars, however. In the first place 
it lacks variety. 

Value of Variety. 

While there is no magic in variety itself, and the average 
fowl does not seem to care greatly for it, every feeder who studies 
the appetite and performance of his hens knows that with a ration 
that consists of so limited an assortment of foods the fowls 
will sooner or later lose their appetites and the egg record will 
suffer, if not the health of the fowls as well. It is possible to feed 
such a ration indefinitely with a fair degree of success while the 
fowls are on open range, but they are never likely to reach a 
high average of production. The most important thing in 
feeding for eggs is to- get the hens to consume large quantities 
of food, without which there can never be large production of 
eggs. One of the most important aids in accomplishing this result 
is providing reasonable variety in the ration. 

Hens have personal preferences as well as people, and what is 
acceptable variety to one hen may not be so to another. Experi- 
ments with hens of the same breeding, age and previous treatment 
have shown that all do not like the same things and probably will 
not do equally well on any uniform ration. The necessity for 
variety, therefore, does not seem to be due so much to the fact 
that the hen prefers a wide range of choice in her feeding, but 
rather that hens have individual preferences, and these must be 
suited if they are to do their best. 

To get back to our corn, bran and meat scrap ration again, it 
is apparent that this does not offer mu?h choice, and actual 



40 CHICKENMONEY 

experiments with this ration have shown that its continued use 
will result in very moderate production. In choosing additional 
feedstuffs we must be governed largely by availability and economy. 
Many things might be used to advantage in feeding hens that would 
not be practical on account of the cost. With the exception of 
meat scrap it is doubtful if it is ever necessary or profitable to 
pay over two cents a pound for any kind of poultry food. 
The average cost of the farm ration ought not to exceed one 
and one-half cents a pound under ordinary conditions, and the 
poultryman must have an exceptional market for his products 
if he can profitably feed a ration the average cost of which exceeds 
two cents a pound. If now we wish to correct our initial ration 
so as to introduce more variety, keep the cost down to a practical 
figure and still provide the proper percentages of protein and fibre, 
we shall have to consult the accompanying table and select the 
foods that are cheapest, most palatable and most easily secured. 
Cheapness does not, however, necessarily mean the low- 
est price per pound. Different grains have different feeding values 
as measured by their digestibility or even palatability, and both 
points should be considered in making up the ration. Wheat is 
one of our most valuable grains and should be used liberally when 
price makes it economical to do so. Buckwheat and oats, which 
closely resemble corn in their analyses, though carrying consider- 
ably more fibre, are excellent foods, though usually too ex- 
pensive for general use unless grown at home. Other grains may 
be used when price makes it an object, but it is doubtful whether 
there is any real advantage in making a special effort to supply 
them and there is reason to believe that the scratch feeds which 
contain a considerable variety of different grains are fed with a 
good deal of waste. There is also considerable danger of intro- 
ducing many noxious weeds in purchasing mixed grains. 

The Mash. 

The mash, a term applied to a mixture of ground grains, fed 
either moistened or dry, figures quite largely in poultry feeding and 
is practically indispensable. Most of us would be glad to omit It 
if it were possible to do so and get good results, because it is the 
most difficult factor to reckon with in feeding, but we cannot escape 
the fact that hens will do their best only when a portion of the daily 
ration is in the form of mash. There is a number of reasons for 
this, some of them understood and some probably not understood. 
The important thing is that it is so. The by-products which ars 
used chiefly in compounding the mash can be secured more cheaply 
than whole grains. The mash also seems to stimulate appetite 
and digestion, and we are able through its medium to introduce 
safely the extra protein that is needed to reinforce the common 
grains. 



CHICKEN MONEY 







Figure 21— Brood Coops in Little Compton District, Rhode Island 




Figure 22— Growing Chicks in an Orchard-An Ideal Place for Brooders and Brood Coops 



CHICKEN MONEY 




Figure 23— Raising Chicks in the Pasture Field— A Good Place but Lacks Shade 




Figure 24— Fowls Feeding in Fattening Crates 



CHICKEN MONEY 41 

It is comparatively easy to prove mathematically that bran 
is too expensive for its actual feeding value, but the practical 
poultryman continues to use it as the basis of his mash because 
he knows that it brings better results and keeps the fowls in 
better condition than can be done without it. It seems to have 
some merit that is not accounted for in the feeding tables. The- 
oretically alfalfa should be a satisfactory substitute for bran, and 
when home-grown should be much cheaper. Experiments, however, 
have shown that alfalfa does not give as good results as does bran 
in ordinary feeding. To bran most feeders add as large a propor- 
tion of middlings or shorts as can be used without making the 
mash sticky or gummy. Corn meal is usually added, partly to 
improve the mechanical condition of the mash and partly to in- 
crease its palatability. Ground oats, if not too expensive, may 
be advantageously added. Frequently this is the only form in 
which oats can be fed without serious waste. Meat scrap or some 
other form of animal food is an essential part of practically all our 
mash formulas. To these feedstuffs are sometimes added oil meal 
and gluten, the oil meal largely for its beneficial effect upon the 
digestion of the fowl and gluten as a cheap source of protein. 

Advantage of Complicated Rations. 

When all these foods are introduced into the ration it is 
decidedly complicated, and, as some believe, entirely too compli- 
cated for practical use. It is true that it is possible to make up a 
ration that will be theoretically correct and omit many of the 
foods mentioned, but results are not likely to be so good. 
The fact that most successful feeders start with some such simple 
ration as corn, wheat bran and meat scrap and gradually change 
to the more complicated ration, fighting against the introduction 
of new factors at every step, is pretty good proof that it is neces- 
sary or at least advantageous to do it. And while the simpler 
rations may be fed with fairly good results, the largest possible 
returns per hen and the largest profit on the investment are not 
secured in that way. 

Wet and Dry Mash. 

Whether the mash should be fed wet or dry is largely a matter 
of convenience. There is something of an art about the proper mix- 
ing and feeding of wet mash, and some men never learn it. There 
is not much room to question the statement that when the wet 
mash is properly fed better results can be secured than in any other 
way. Under some conditions, however, it is possible to get good re- 
sults with dry mash, and there are important arguments in its favor, 
especially when the hens are kept in large flocks. If it is to be 
fed dry it may usually be kept before the hens all the time, as they 
are generally in little danger of eating too much and in many 



42 CHICKEN MONEY 

cases are more likely to eat too little. If wet mash is to be fed 
the question of the proper time to feed it must be considered. It 
is doubtful if it is possible to show by actual test that one time 
is better than another if the rest of the feeding is adapted to it. 
Something depends on the flock and the season. It does not appear 
to be a good plan to give a heavy feed of mash early in the morning 
and have the hens standing sluggishly around all forenoon digest- 
ing it instead of actively digging in the litter for grain. If not 
laying well they will likely be injured to some extent by such feed- 
ing. In the average flock it is probable that noon or night will 
give better results, and it is usually more convenient to feed it then. 

Sample Rations for Laying Hens. 

As a guide to proper feeding the following sample rations have 
been prepared. They are not intended for blind acceptance, and 
the careful feeder will modify them from time to time as prices, 
convenience and season suggest. These rations are based on an 
estimated average consumption of four ounces daily per hen. Where 
the fowls have farm range and secure a considerable part of their 
ration from that source the supplied ration may be decidedly less 
than this amount, and during the summer months little attention 
need be given to the nutritive values of the foods supplied. 

It would not be fair, however, to pass this phase of the subject 
without calling attention to the fact that the common farm ration 
in the summer time, consisting almost wholly of whole grains, is 
decidedly weak in protein. Fowls will make up a considerable 
proportion of the needed protein from the bugs, worms and seeds 
that they are able to find on the range, but they can rarely secure 
enough to properly balance a ration consisting of corn or corn and 
wheat exclusively. Such a farm ration is mistaken economy. The 
hens should have access to a box of dry mash at least; they will 
secure from this the additional protein needed and do it more 
economically than on an entire grain ration because of the greater 
weight of grain which must be consumed to answer the same 
purpose. From November to April the farm flock should be fed on 
practically the same basis as the flock of the specialist. At this 
time the food value of the range is low. 

Maintenance Rations. 

The average hen that is not laying will do very well on about 
two and a half ounces of feed as compared with the four ounces 
which she required when laying, and with a corresponding reduc- 
tion of total protein from .60 ounce to about .35. No special 
attention need be given to the ratio of the maintenance ration in 
practical feeding, but it is worth repeating that a box of dry mash 
ought to be kept before the hens all the time, whether laying or 



CHICKEN MONEY 



43 



not; and if this is done and the daily grain feeding is adjusted to 
the appetite and condition of the fowls they will take care of 
the protein problem themselves to a considerable extent. It is 
true that under some conditions hens will consume more of the 
dry mash than is good for them. As the mash is usually com- 
pounded there can be no objection to consumption of the mash 
reaching one-third of the total food consumption, or possibly one- 
half when laying heavily. If it exceeds that proportion it is 
usually advisable to put a check on it by increasing the proportion 
of bran or by leaving the mash exposed only part of the day. 
This is about the only modification that is likely to be needed. 
In compounding the following rations the values given in the 
table on this page are used. Most of these values are taken from 
Henry's Feeds and Feeding and given to the nearest decimal, which 
is accurate enough for practical purposes. For the convenience 
of those who may wish to use the table for general reference the 
percentage of all nutrients is given, but attention is called to 
the fact that in the sample rations all factors except protein and 
fibre are ignored. It is probable that the percentage of fat is as 
important practically as the percentage of crude fibre, but this 
subject appears to have been entirely ignored by investigators. 

Table of Average Composition of Feeding Stuffs used in Poultry Feeding. 

Crude Carbo- 

Protein Fibre hydrates Fat 

p. c. p. c. p. c. p. c. 

Corn 10 2 70 5 

Corn meal 9 2 69 4 

Corn and cob meal 9 7 65 3.5 

Gluten feed 24 5 51 10.5 

Wheat 12 2 72 2 

Bran 15 9 54 4 

Middlings 16 5 60 4 

Shorts 15 J 57 4.5 

Buckwheat 10 9 »» - 

Buckwheat bran 12 32 39 3 

Buckwheat middlings 29 4 4J i 

Oats 12 10 60 5 

Barlev 12 ™ 70 2 

Rye 11 2 73 1.5 

Peas, Canada 24 7 50 1 

Kaffir corn • 10 1 <J> \ 

Millet 12 10 57 4 

Sunflower seed 16 30 ^l ti 

Linseed meal or oil meal, o. p 33 » ao » 

Linseed meal or oil meal, new pro 33 10 38 3 

Peanut meal 48 5 24 8 

Green bone 22 i < 

♦Meat scrap 55 »« 

Dried blood 84 ? 

Skimmilk (gravity) 3 J 

Buttermilk 4 * ' 

Whey 1 * * 

Clover hay 12 25 3 

Alfalfa hay 14 , 25 « & 

Silage 2 6 11 1 

Beets, mangel 1 y 

Cabbage 2 

* Meat scrap varies widely in composition; in practical feeding the 
analysis on the bag must be adopted. 



44 CHICKENMONEY 

Ration No. 1. 

A whole grain ration. Not likely to give as good results as one 
providing a mash but meeting all the theoretical requirements. 

Protein Fibre 

200 pounds of corn 20 4 

200 pounds of wheat 24 4 

100 pounds of oats 12 9 

60 pounds of meat scrap 33 

Per cent of protein, 15.2; fibre, 4. 

Ration No. 2. 

A simple formula offering little variety. A little high in 

fibre. 

Protein Fibre 

200 pounds of corn 20 4 

50 pounds of buckwheat (or oats) 5 4.5 

150 pounds of mash 36 8 

Per cent of protein, 15.2; fibre, 4. 

Mash formula: 200 pounds of bran, 150 middlings, 100 meat 

scrap. 

Ration No. 3. 

A better ration under most conditions. 

Protein Fibre 

200 pounds of corn 20 4 

100 pounds of wheat 12 2 

150 pounds of mash 37 9 

Per cent of protein, 15.3; fibre, 3.3. 

Mash formula: 100 pounds each of bran, middlings, ground 

oats and meat scrap. 

Ration No. 4. 

A more complicated ration but better for fowls in confinement. 

Protein Fibre 

200 pounds of corn 20 4 

200 pounds of wheat 24 4 

50 pounds of oats 6 5 

250 pounds of mash 54.7 13.3 

Per cent of protein, 15; fibre, 3.5. 

Mash formula: 200 pounds of bran, 100 pounds of middlings, 100 
pounds of buckwheat middlings, 100 pounds of corn meal, 100 
pounds of gluten feed, 50 pounds of meat scrap, and 50 pounds of 
oil meal. Pounds of protein in 100 pounds of mash, 21.5; fibre, 5.3. 

Is It Practical? 

The foregoing discussion of feeding should enable any one to 
feed with a pretty accurate knowledge of what he is doing if he will 
take the trouble to work out his rations along the lines suggested. 
Whether he will be any more successful than before depends upon 
the amount of practical judgment he combines with his figures. 
Many will doubtless think that all this is too elaborate and the- 



CHICKENMONEY 45 

oretical for the practical man, but the more practical the poultry- 
man is the more willing he generally is to use all possible aids 
in his feeding. It would be foolish to rely entirely on food tables 
and mathematics in working out rations, and it would be just 
as foolish to shut one's eyes to all that food experts have learned. 
Undoubtedly some are doing just this and getting good results, 
but the great majority are getting the worst of results and would 
be much abler to understand why if they would sit down and 
work out the real feeding value of the rations they are giving. 
For example, the man who is feeding his hens whole corn and 
nothing else would find that his hens, in order to get the .60 of 
an ounce of protein that they need daily, must eat at least six 
ounces a day. This is considerably more than the average hen 
will consume and more than she can digest if fed for a considerable 
length of time. Average hens get little more protein than is 
needed solely for maintenance in the proportion in which they will 
take such a ration. There is no possibility of their producing 
eggs. The addition of a small amount of animal food in the form 
of meat scrap, if fresh meat is not obtainable, will make it pos- 
sible for the hen to get all the protein she needs without . eating 
more than three and one-half to four ounces a day, and such an 
addition will usually result in a prompt increase in the egg pro- 
duction. On the other hand, the man who reasons that if a little 
protein is good a good deal better, would learn, if he would care- 
fully work out his feeding values, that his ration is not only 
unnecessarily expensive but that it is also so low in fibre that his 
hens are falling far short of the amount necessary to enable them 
to digest their food properly, as a direct result of which they must 
suffer sooner or later from digestive disorders, or at least become 
valueless as producers. It is not entirely safe to assume that the 
hens know best what they need and the proportion in which they 
need it. It is desirable and practical to allow them some measure 
of liberty in choosing what they will eat, but as things go on 
most farms we can more certainly protect the health of our fowls 
If we use a little care and forethought in selecting their feed. 

Animal Food. 

There is excellent reason for believing that animal food of 
some sort is a necessity in practical feeding, in spite of the fact 
that some experiments point the other way. Whether the value 
of animal food is due entirely to the protein it provides, or perhaps 
in considerable measure to the mineral elements contained, is a 
subject requiring further investigation. Whatever the reason, the 
fact remains that animal food in some form is considered indis- 
pensable in feeding the commercial flock. No doubt green cut bone 
or fresh meat is the best possible source of animal food, if for 
no other reason than that it is the most palatable form in which 



46 CHICKEN MONEY 

animal food may be supplied. The practical difficulties in the way 
of securing either one of these feedstuffs and keeping in good con- 
dition until fed make it out of the question for more than a 
few to meet the need for animal food in this way. The great 
majority of poultrymen find commercial meat scrap or beef scrap 
the most practical and most convenient source of animal food. 
Meat scrap, which consists of butchering offal cooked, dried and 
ground, varies greatly in composition and analysis, and a little 
more than ordinary care should be exercised in its purchase. Meat 
scrap should carry an analysis of 50 to 60 per cent protein and as 
little fat as possible. It should not be particularly disagreeable 
in odor. The best way to test scrap in this respect is to pour 
boiling water over a small sample. If it smells like fertilizer 
under this test it should not be used. The practice of buying meat 
scrap from local dealers in small quantities is a wasteful way of 
buying. It should always be secured in hundred-pound bags to get 
the benefit of wholesale prices. It will keep indefinitely if stored 
in a dry, cool place. If by any chance it should spoil or become 
mouldy it should be used for fertilizer. Spoiled meat scrap is a 
dangerous food for poultry, and, in fact, spoiled meat in any 
form. In buying meat scrap the percentage of fat should be 
carefully noted. This generally runs as high as 30 per cent, which 
is probably much higher than is desirable. The dark-brown drop- 
pings and other evidences of indigestion that frequently accompany 
the feeding of meat may be due principally to an excess of fat. 
Other sources of animal food are blood meal, pork scraps and fresh 
cooked butchering scraps and may be used when price makes it an 
object, but are usually quite high in fat. Blood meal, while con- 
taining little fat, should be used with a good deal of care a8 
results with it are often unsatisfactory. 

Milk. 

Milk is sometimes recommended as a substitute for meat, and 
during the summer time when fowls are on open range it will 
probably answer very well. It is not a complete substitute for 
meat, however, when the fowls are closely confined during the 
winter. In a general way it may be said that there is nothing in 
any of the rations that have been discussed for which something 
else cannot be substituted, but to this general rule corn and animal 
food appear to be exceptions. For the rest, so far as we now 
know, there is no reason why substitutes should not be made wher* 
ever it appears to be desirable to do so. Whatever cheapens the 
ration or makes it more palatable to the hens is worth feeding 
freely, provided its use does not materially affect the standards 
of feeding laid down at the beginning of this chapter. 



CHICKENMONBY 47 

Green Food. 

Fowls on open range consume a considerable amount of green 
food and in winter or when in confinement should be provided 
with a regular supply in some form. It is not probable that green 
food so supplied plays any appreciable part in the nutrition of 
fowls "but undoubtedly they will keep in better health and lay 
more eggs if it is provided. The tender shoots of sprouting 
grains, grass and young clover are greatly relished. In the 
winter cabbage, roots of all kinds, particularly mangels or stock 
beets, are good. Lacking these clover hay or even silage may be 
substituted. Mangels, however, are so well adapted to the purpose 
that a sufficient quantity for winter use should be raised by every 
one who keeps fowls. Dried beet pulp is used successfully by 
many, but is more expensive. 

Grit and Shell. 

Exactly what function is performed by grit is not perfectly 
understood. There is no good reason for believing that grit is a 
necessity or that it in any way performs the function of teeth in 
the preparation of food. Careful experiments have shown that 
the consumption of grit may be very slight or may be omitted 
entirely without in any manner affecting the health of the fowls. 
Lime in some form is necessary to provide shell material. Oyster 
shell is usually the most convenient source of supply for this 
purpose, and where oyster shell is regularly supplied grit does 
not seem to be at all necessary either on open range or la 
confinement. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PRODUCTION OF TABLE POULTRY. 

With the exception of certain localities, here and there, where 
highly specialized lines of table poultry production have been de- 
veloped, the production of high grade table poultry has been 
completely ignored by farmers. Without any question there is 
an excellent opportunity for developing a paying business in 
supplying consumers who want the best in table poultry and 
are willing to pay much better prices for it than the ordinary 
range of wholesale prices would indicate. Sales of market 
poultry would rapidly double if poultry of good quality were 
generally obtainable. Those who keep flocks of general-pur- 
pose fowls are realizing only a part of their possible income by 
neglecting this branch of the business. Any of the general-pur- 
pose or meat breeds may be used for this purpose, as the chief 
secret in the production of high-class table poultry lies in the 
proper feeding of the fowls before they are sent to market. It is 
of course desirable that pure-bred fowls should be used for the 
sake of greater uniformity in size and appearance. Plymouth 
Hocks and Wyandottes have no equals in this respect in most of 
our markets. They have plump bodies and in an unusual degree 
the yellow legs and skin which are most popular. 

In the production of the best table poultry the fowls are 
handled with reference to their final market, almost from the start. 
They are so managed and fed that they have little occasion or dis- 
position to take much exercise, and in this way their flesh is kept 
comparatively soft until the fowls are pretty well grown and ready 
for final fitting. When they have reached a weight of three to 
five pounds they are usually in the best condition for fattening, an.l 
unless there is something special in the state of the market to 
prevent they are fattened at this time and either disposed of for 
immediate use or for storage. There are two general methods of 
fattening fowls, known as pen fattening and crate fattening. 

Pen Fattening. 

In pen fattening fowls in flocks of convenient size are confined 
to small house pens, crowding them so as to prevent exercise. 
They are fed the usual fattening rations in troughs. Fattening can 
be done in this way at the lowest cost for labor and equipment, and 
for ordinary market purposes it is most practical. Fowls fattened in 
pens, however, do not represent the highest quality or largest 

48 



CHICKEN MONEY 49 

gains obtainable as there is too much opportunity for exercise and 
the flesh cannot be softened as in crates. 

Crate Fattening. 

For crate fattening, crates are provided similar to the one 
shown in Fig 24, which is 6 feet long, 20 inches deep and 
20 inches high. This crate is divided into three compartments 
accommodating from three to five fowls, depending upon size. 
The bottom of this crate is slatted or covered with heavy inch- 
mesh netting, and the fowls are confined in them for from two to 
four weeks. Under such confinement, with no opportunity what- 
ever for exercise, the muscle fibers become quite a little softer 
and with the proper rations excellent quality is secured. Whether 
the fowls are fed in pens or in crates the rations used by the 
best fatteners are very similar, consisting of fine-ground grains 
mixed with buttermilk to a batter consistency and fed two or 
three times a day. Experiments have shown that there is little 
use in trying to fatten fowls beyond a certain point on whole 
grains, and the best results are always secured with the fine- 
ground grain mixtures and buttermilk. 

The ration in most common use in the Western fattening sta- 
tions, where this method has been remarkably developed in the 
lasti few years, consists of about 60 pounds of corn meal and 
40 pounds of low-grade flour. About 1% pounds of buttermilk 
is required to each pound of grain. Some feeders use oatmeal in- 
stead of low-grade flour, or in addition to it, and other foods are 
used to some extent. A fattening ration of 60 parts of corn meal, 
30 parts of low-grade flour and 10 parts of wheat middlings or 
oatmeal would probably prove a little more palatable to the fowls, 
as the mixture of corn meal and low-grade flour alone is some- 
times too slimy to be entirely palatable. Fowls fed in this way 
are known on the market as "milk-fed" and command the highest 
prices when marketed in good condition. Fowls so fed, however, 
spoil more quickly than those which are fattened without milk and 
care must be taken in their handling on this account. The poul- 
try man who contemplates making a specialty of high-grade fowls 
for market has to face the necessity of sending them to market 
dressed, because it is not practicable to ship specially fatted fowls 
alive, nor is it possible to get satisfactory prices for them 
when so shipped. 

Dry Picking. 

A still more discouraging thing to the beginner is the ne- 
cessity for sending the chickens dry-picked. In nearly all in- 
stances the best markets demand dry-picking, not only on account 
of appearance but also because the fowls keep in better con- 



so 



CHICKEN MONEY 



dition. The average poultryman who does not live near a city 
has little chance to learn dry-picking as it is practiced by experts. 
His first attempts at self-help are seldom reassuring. The expert 
finds it a simple matter. A couple of quick cuts with the knife, a 
shudder and a few convulsive struggles, a few quick motions of 
the hands and it is all over and the feathers in the box. There is 
only one way for the beginner to learn and that is to get the best 
possible instruction and then keep practicing until he has mastered 
the art. 

In dry-picking the expert first makes a cut in the back part of 
the mouth which severs the large blood-vessels lying on each side 
of the neck, and then the bird is "stuck" by running the point of 
the knife into the brain, touching the skull be- 
tween and just back of the eyes. When prop- 
erly done the fowl immediately becomes insen- 
sible, the muscles which control the feathers 
relax, the feathers loosen and for a minute or 
two can be removed with the greatest ease. 
Getting the proper stick is a matter of practice, 
as is also the removal of the feathers before 
the muscles begin to set again and tighten 
their hold on the feathers. In the Boston mar- 
ket a somewhat different method is followed. 
Here most of the bleeding is done with an out- 
side cut, running the knife through the neck 
back of the ears, between the windpipe and the 
spinal column and making a cross cut against 
the latter that severs both blood-vessels. This 
method is supposed to make the fowl bleed bet- 
ter. Sticking is done by inserting the point of 
the knife from the outside just in front of or 
under the eye and forcing it up into the skull, 
reaching the same point as in the inside stick. 
There are other methods of killing (fowls 
for dry-picking, but these two are the ones 
most commonly used. They are both tolerably 
difficult for the beginner to acquire, and even experts find 
some difficulty in employing these methods when they are out of 
practice. It is questionable, therefore, whether the farmer or the 
poultryman with a small flock can satisfactorily use them. 




Figure 25— Showing 
Large Blood Vessels 



A Simple Dry-Picking Method. 

Another method, which is simpler and which requires prac- 
tically no skill in applying, is that of clubbing the fowls. In dry 
picking by this method the fowl is hung up by the feet so that 
its head will be about even with the waistline of the picker. A 
cord with a slipnoose may be used but a more convenient arrange- 



CHICKEN MONEY 



51 



ment is to have the cord terminate in a wooden button about an 
inch to an inch and a quarter in diameter. In using, the cord is 
wrapped once round the fowl's legs, and the button slipped through 
between cord and legs. So fastened the fowl will be held securely 
no matter how hard it struggles but can be released instantly when 
the picker so desires. Holding the fowl under the left arm it is 
given a sharp blow on the back of the head, using a club of con- 
venient size and weight. A ham- 
mer or hatchet handle does nicely. 
After striking with the club the 
knife is inserted into the mouth 
and the bird bled in the usual way, 
the blood cup attached by a hook 
which runs through the lower man- 
dible, and the picking proceeds as 
rapidly as possible. This method 
does not loosen the feathers as 
completely as is done in sticking 
when properly done, but it never 
fails to give fairly good results and 
the beginner is not annoyed by 
frequent failure to get a good stick, 
which makes it impossible to pick 
the fowls at all without scalding. 
The requirements of the market 
should be carefully studied before 
sending fowls to it and the fowls 
dressed according to its particular 
demands. Philadelphia and Boston 
prefer fowls undrawn with head 

and feet on, and without any question, if the fowls have been prop- 
erly prepared by starving for 24 hours or more, this is much the 
better way to send them to market. Undrawn fowls keep better 
than drawn fowls and customers should be encouraged to purchase 
them in this condition. 

The farm poultryman who does not have a large number of 
fowls to dispose of will find it more to his interest to secure 
a retail trade or to make a contract with some retail grocer or 
butcher to handle his fowls for him, as much better terms can 
be made in this way than by trying to sell them at wholesale. 
Carefully dressed and put on the market clean and in neat pack- 
ages the price which may be secured for such fowls is very much in 
advance of the price paid for ordinary market stock. 
Scalding Fowls. 

Where the market does not demand dry picking the poultryman 
or farmer will have less difficulty in putting his table poultry on 




3 m. 
Figure 26— Blood Cup 



52 CHICKENMONEY 

the market in an acceptable manner. While scalded poultry never 
looks as well as dry picked there are some markets which prefer 
it dressed in this way, and with reasonable care fowls so dressed 
will make a much better appearance than is usually the case. 
The chief reason for the blotched and discolored appearance of 
scalded fowls is due to the unnecessary breaking of the skin in 
dressing. If the fowls are to be marketed with their heads and 
feet on they should be hung up by the feet, killed by clubbing and 
bled in the way which we have already described in connection 
with the directions for dry picking. Killing by chopping off the 
head is always objectionable on account of the fluttering and bruis- 
ing of the wings which always accompanies this method. As soon 
as the fowl is through bleeding it should be scalded at once. In 
scalding, boiling water should not be used but at scalding temper- 
ature only, which is 180 degrees. Plenty of water should be used 
for the purpose and on the farm there is probably no better way 
of doing it than to use the common iron kettle which should be 
about two-thirds full of water. Plenty of water must be used so 
that the fowls can be completely immersed. Heat the water to the 
boiling point and then pour in from one to two gallons of cold water 
to reduce it to scalding temperature. Hold the fowl firmly by head 
and feet and dip it completely under the water and withdraw as 
quickly as possible. Now hold it head down and shake it to loosen 
the feathers, then dip a second time. Usually two dippings will 
be sufficient to loosen the feathers. The fowl should be hung up 
by the feet as when being bled, and picked promptly without 
touching the skin. Most of the blemishes on scalded poultry are 
due to pinching and rubbing the skin, which may be avoided with 
a little care. After the fowl is plucked it should be cooled 
promptly and should not be handled until thoroughly cooled. If 
the fowl is drawn it should be allowed to cool before drawing and 
should be thoroughly dry when handled. If these precautions are 
taken the skin will not be marred and the fowl will make a much 
better appearance in the market. Dressed fowls should be wrapped 
in wax paper when marketed. This paper can be secured at a 
low price and the more attractive appearance made by poultry so' 
wrapped adds decidedly to its salability. 

This subject has been discussed from the standpoint of mature 
fowls or roasters altogether, because in most instances this is the 
most profitable way in which to dispose of surplus stock. Chicks 
that are hatched early in the season may sell profitably as 
broilers, but the great majority of farm-raised poultry is hatched 
too late to command good prices as such, and when this is the 
case it is a waste of opportunity to neglect their proper prepara- 
tion to sell as roasters. 

In what is known as the South Shore District, near Boston, 
the production of what are known locally as soft roasters has 



CHICKENMONEY 53 

become an important industry and there many farmers depend 
upon their sales of soft roasters for the greater part of their 
income. The soft roaster business is a highly specialized industry, 
and most farmers will not be interested in developing it along 
the lines followed in the South Shore District. Every young 
chicken, however, is a soft roaster if it is properly handled, fattened 
and killed before reaching maturity, and there is a large and en- 
tirely unsatisfied demand for such fowls in every market. It will 
amply repay anyone to make the production of table poultry an im- 
portant part of his business at any season of the year. Even 
those who are not interested in the production of market poultry as 
a specialty should at least put their surplus stock on the market in 
good condition. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE HEALTH OF THE FLOCK. 

The losses from disease in the poultry yard are much heavier 
under ordinary conditions than in other classes of livestock, due 
in large measure to the artificial conditions under which our fowls 
are kept and the extreme methods adopted by many in poultry 
management. There is little use in doctoring sick fowls, as the 
value of the birds is too small to pay for the time 
required id treating them. Rational methods of feeding and man- 
agement, careful breeding and sanitation will do much to prevent 
the appearance of disease. The use of fowls that are low in vigor 
is one of the most common sources of disease and loss. 

An important point in the prevention of disease therefore is 
the use of nothing but the best and most vigorous fowls in the 
breeding pen. Many evidences of low constitutional vigor are ap- 
parent to the observant poultryman and it is only necessary to 
give serious attention to this matter to improve the general 
health of the flock. The housing and feeding of the stock 
are of the greatest importance in protecting health. Houses that 
are well ventilated, that are dry and clean, and that are thor- 
oughly disinfected at least once a year are essential. It is not 
desirable to have warm houses, particularly for breeding stock, 
and it is much safer to err on the side of having them too 
cold rather than too warm. Neither should the fowls be con- 
lined to their houses any more than is absolutely necessary. The, 
widest possible range under the most favorable conditions should 
be given the breeding stock, even though the rest of the fowl3 
may have to be confined. 

Irregular and improper feeding of fowls is a prolific source 
of disease. Experiments, both with poultry and with other 
classes of livestock, indicate that the use of a certain amount of 
corn in the ration is accompanied usually with vigorous fertility and 
vitality. The condition of the fowls, however, has much to do 
with this matter, and obviously breeding stock that becomes over- 
fat on a heavy corn diet is less likely to give good results than 
stock in better breeding condition. Where corn is freely used 
care should be taken to see that the fowls take plenty of exercise, 
feeding grain in deep litter and compelling them to scratch for 
practically all grain given. Injurious feedstuffs, or those which 
have been spoiled or damaged, frequently cause disease and only 
the best and most wholesome grains should be used in feeding. 

54 



CHICKENMONEY 55 

Soil Contamination. 

The soil is subject to contamination through the presence of 
a considerable variety of disease germs, and many poultry farms 
nave been seriously handicapped or ruined in this way. The 
danger is most common in heavy clay soils and in damp locations. 
With ordinary care and management sandy and gravelly soils are 
less seriously affected. There is no reason why fowls cannot be 
kept on heavy soils in safety but more care must be taken to 
Keep the surroundings clean and well drained, and whenever pos- 
sible it is well to give the permanent quarters an occasional rest 
by temporarily transferring the fowls to some other location and 
allowing something to grow on the ground. Yards should be 
cultivated and sown to rye or grass when they become bare, at 
which time also they should be treated with liberal applications of 
air-slaked lime. The observance of these simple precautions will 
assist greatly in keeping down bacterial diseases. 

The poultry house should be disinfected occasionally, for 
which purpose a variety of disinfectants may be used;, giving 
preference of course to those which are most readily available. 
The orchardist will find the lime-sulphur wash satisfactory; the 
stockman will get as good results with the common sheep dips 
or other coal tar disinfectants which are used in general disin- 
fection; and in the absence of anything else ordinary whitewash 
answers the purpose of the latter. The tendency to scale and 
rub off makes it less desirable for the purpose than the other 
preparations mentioned. 

Dissecting. 

The importance of dissecting dead chickens is not realized 
generally and the subject needs emphasis. If poultrymen would 
form the habit of cutting up their dead chickens, examining the 
various vital organs and learning to recognize the normal appear- 
ance of the organs and their appearance when diseased, it 
would assist greatly in protecting the health of the flock. 
The ability to recognize the cause and location of disease in 
fowls is an invaluable asset to the poultryman. The most con- 
venient method of dissection is to lay the bird on a board or a 
table, breast up, fasten the wings and feet in an outstretched posi- 
tion by driving nails or tacks through them, then split the skin 
from neck to vent and remove the breast bone and attached 
muscles. This will lay bare the entire body cavity and 
make easy the removal of the different organs and their examina- 
tion. In all cases of uncertainty in regard to the cause of death 
this method should be followed. 



56 CHICKEN MONEY 

Some Common Diseases. 

It is not the purpose of this chapter to go into a general 
discussion of the different diseases of poultry, but a few of the more 
common are mentioned and such simple treatments indicated as are 
practicable under ordinary conditions. Fowls that have been seri- 
ously sick should never be returned to the breeding pen no matter 
how valuable they may have been before sickness, as there is no 
more certain way of undermining the health of the flock than 
by using such fowls, even though they may seem afterward to 
have entirely recovered their health. The value of a sick bird 
that has been cured is simply its value on the market and it 
should never be thought of in any other way. 

The two general classes of disease in mature fowls that prove 
most troublesome are digestive disorders and those of the nature 
of catarrh or roup. Digestive disorders are usually due to im- 
proper feeding caused by using extreme formulas or methods, by 
supplying feedstuffs that have become spoiled, or by a lack of 
certain things which are essential to the health of the fowl. A 
lack of green feed, for example, may result in liver disorders. 
Rations which contain an excess of fat will also cause similar 
disorders. Death from liver disease is easily distinguished by 
examination. The liver may be mottled with lighter colored tissue 
or it may be much darker than normal. It may be greatly enlarged 
and congested, or it may be wasted away. In young chicks the 
liver may be edged with red while the central part is yellowish In 
color. The gall bladder may be enlarged and the liver, where it 
comes in contact with it, blackened. Several liver diseases 
are indicated by these symptons, 'but as practically all are trace- 
able to improper food or methods of feeding they need not be dis- 
cussed in detail. Unfortunately the presence of liver trouble is 
rarely accompanied by external indications until it has progressed 
so far that treatment is of little avail. The careful and observant 
poultryman, however, may often save fowls by detecting liver 
disorder in early stages and administering a dose of one-fourth to 
one-third teaspoon of Epsom salts, than which there is no more 
simple effective remedy for any digestive or liver disorder. 

Acute diarrhoea and inflammation of the intestines are easily 
recognized and taken in the first stages are best treated with 
Epsom salts, as is also the case with inflammation of the crop or 
of the glandular stomach, commonly called gastritis. These latter 
troubles are due to the feeding of irritating or poisonous foods. 
Most cases of so-called cholera are simply cases of acute indiges- 
tion. Genuine cholera is a very uncommon disease and one which 
there is little hope of treating when it does make its appearance. 
On account of the comparative infrequency of its occurrence, how- 



CHICKEN MONEY 5? 

ever, It is usually safe to assume that deaths result from some 
other cause. 

Fowls are subject to the attacks of a variety of intestinal 
worms, but they are all more or less amenable to the same treat- 
ment. Where worms are suspected the proper treatment is a 
dose of ten grains of areca nut given after fasting, in a teaspoonful 
of warm milk. In all cases of internal disorders special care 
should be taken with the ration, giving the fowls whole grains 
in limited quantities, plenty of green food and open range. No 
matter what symptoms may be observed it is always a safe pre- 
caution to remove sick fowls from the flock, and every poultry 
plant should have a small house which may be utilized as a 
hospital. 

Diseases of a catarrhal nature, whether they are simple colds 
or the much-dreaded roup, usually start with cold or inflammation 
of the mucous membrane of the nostrils and head, and there will 
seldom be much trouble or loss if the fowls are isolated from 
the flock as soon as the initial stages of the disorder are observed 
and given simple treatment. The exact nature of roup is not 
perfectly understood, but there is good reason for believing that 
there would be few cases of roup if colds and catarrh were 
taken in hand promptly at their first appearance, when they may 
easily be cured. There is no rational objection to the use of 
fowls, in breeding flocks, that have had simple colds, but when 
the cold has advanced to the stage of roup such birds should be 
disposed of at once. The best treatment for a simple cold or 
catarrhal condition is thoroughly to wash out the nasal passages 
with a two per cent solution of boric acid or with peroxide of 
hydrogen or a strong solution of potassium permanganate. For 
this purpose the most effective instrument is a simple rubber 
syringe, which can be procured at any drug-store for a few cents 
and ought to be a regular part of the equipment of every one 
who keeps chickens. Frequently two or three treatments of this 
nature will be all that is necessary to effectually check this 
disorder. 

A somewhat simpler treatment, and one which is perhaps as 
effective when the disease is treated in its first stages, is the use 
of lamp oil. This may be applied to the nostrils of the fowl with 
a feather or a swab, but a better plan is to fill a quart can two- 
thirds full of water, pour on two or three spoonfuls of kerosene 
and then slowly dip the fowl's head deep into the can, and repeat 
the operation two or three times with short intervals between. 
This results in spreading a thin film of kerosene over the 
nasal membranes, and one or two applications will frequently 
cure. Where potassium permanganate is used the fowl's head 
may be dipped in a strong solution in the manner just described 



68 CHICKENMONEY 

for the use of kerosene. Chronic cases of catarrh and even roup 
may be cured by persistent use of the means already described, 
but much time and patience are required. 

Diseases of Chicks. 

The diseases affecting young chickens are numerous, some of 
them directly traceable to defective breeding stock or improper 
hatching, and some to the conditions of brooding and feeding 
during the first two or three weeks of their lives. As in the case 
of mature fowls the poultryman should thoroughly familiarize him- 
self with the appearance of the organs in normal condition, and 
then dissect his dead chickens until he has in this way determined 
certainly the nature of the disorder. There are half a dozen gen- 
eral causes of disease in very young chickens, all of them accom- 
panied by similar symptoms, and not even those who are expert 
In the diagnosis of chick diseases are able to identify such diseases 
by outward symptoms. 

A great deal of misunderstanding is due to the common habit 
of referring to practically all diseases of chicks as "white 
diarrhoea." There is no such disease, properly so called. Any- 
thing that affects the health of the chick will cause diarrhoea, 
and chick diarrhoea is usually white. Dissection and microscopical 
examination are often necessary in order to certainly determine 
the cause of the disorder. A common disease in some sections 
is that known as baciliary white diarrhoea. This disease has been 
thoroughly investigated and described by the Connecticut State 
Agricultural Experiment Station at Storrs. A complete descrip- 
tion of the disease, of its symptoms and of the methods 
of prevention will be found in Bulletins Nos. 60 and 68, which 
can be secured by addressing the Station at Storrs. Another 
disease, known as coccidiosis, is described by Dr. G. B. Morse 
in Circular 128, Bureau of Animal Industry, Washington, D. C. 
This circular fully describes the symptoms and gives detailed 
methods for detecting the presence of the disease, and it should 
be in the hands of every poultryman. 

Another disease, perhaps as common as either of the two 
mentioned, is aspergillosis. This, is caused by mould which 
grows in the lung tissue of the young chick and is easily detected 
on examination, the lungs of infected chicks being more or less 
tilled with white nodules or balls of yellow cheesy matter. The 
usual cause of aspergillosis is the use of mouldy food, or mouldy 
litter in the brooder. Dusty clover hay is a prolific source of as- 
pergillosis and every precaution should be taken to protect the 
chicks from mould of every sort during the first few days of their 
lives. 

Congestion of the lungs, sometimes called brooder pneumonia, 
is a common disease among young chickens and is easily de- 



CHICKENMONEY 69 

tected by the appearance of the lungs, which instead of being light 
pink in color are dark and filled with bloody mucus or frothy 
matter and indicating congestion quite plainly. This disease is 
common among chicks brooded in cold or "lampless" brooders; 
it is caused by over-heating or chilling and can be carefuly guarded 
against in the management of the brooder. 

Acute diarrhoea, due to the feeding of mouldy, sour or irrita- 
ting foods, is common and is sometimes mistaken for 
some of the various forms of disease already described. It is 
hardly possible to lay down specific rules for the prevention of 
such disorders, but careful and. conservative feeding will always 
prevent the appearance of the trouble in vigorous chicks. 

Much may be done to relieve chicks with a tendency to bowel 
trouble by the addition of a small amount of Cayenne pepper or 
ground mustard to the soft food, never using enough to make it 
disagreeable to the taste. Diarrhoea may frequently be checked 
by giving boiled milk to drink. Boiled rice fed once or twice a 
day is excellent. Various astringent drugs are recommended, 
but if the simple agencies just described do not stop the trouble 
It is doubtful whether there is anything to be gained by more 
radical treatment 

Gapes. 

Gapes is caused by the presence of a worm m tne throat of 
the chick and the source of infection is the soil. The gapeworm 
does not cause any serious injury to the young chick directly, and 
without question many thousands of chickens have gapes without 
that fact ever being noted, as there is no way to detect presence 
of gapeworms unless in numbers sufficient to obstruct the passage 
of air and in that way cause death by suffocation. Clay and lime- 
stone soils are particularly favorable to gape infection and fre- 
quently there is no way to prevent the disease except by keeping 
the chicks on board floors till they are past the danger point, 
which is about the fourth or fifth week. The only other alterna- 
tive is to have two or three nursery yards on which the chicks 
may be raised in alternate years and in that way escape contamina- 
tion of the soil. 

The usual source of infection is from earth-worms which carry 
the eggs of the gapeworm to the chick. The eggs probably hatch 
in the intestinal tract and the worm in minute form burrows its 
way through the body tissues until it reaches the windpipe, to the 
inner surface of which it attaches itself and remains there until it is 
dislodged or until it has matured. At maturity, which is most 
commonly about the time the young chick dies, the female gape- 
worm contains hundreds' of fertile eggs, at which time it also 
dies. As the body tissues decay the eggs are set free and enter 



60 CHICKEN MONEY 

the soil. Obviously earth-worms do not cause gapes; they simply 
carry the infection, and if there is no infection in the soil earth- 
worms are entirely harmless. 

The chief cause of leg weakness is insufficient exercise or too 
close confinement to house pens. It can usually 1 be remedied 
promptly by allowing the chick access to an outdoor run. 



"Common Sense Treat- 
ment of Farm Animals " 

By DR. C. D. SMEAD 

'J'HIS book, written by Dr. Smead, a noted 
authority in his line, tells in every-day 
style how to treat common diseases of 
cattle, horses, sheep and swine. Tells how 
to keep them healthy and thriving and 
what to do in case of emergency— chok- 
ing, colic, bloating, wounds, etc. The illus- 
trations make the book worth many times 
more than is asked for it, showing as they 
do the methods of applying different treat- 
ments. Animals on every farm get sick 
at times. The study of Dr. Smead's di- 
rections and quick action will save nine 
cases out of ten. You can't follow direc- 
tions without the book. Price 50 cents. 



Copyrighted and Published by 

The National Stockman and Farmer 

Publishing Company. 



Books for Young and Old 

CLEAN, EXCITING TALES OF 
ADVENTURE AND RO- 
MANCE BY LEWIS B. MILLER 



A Crooked Trail" 

The story of a Thousand Mile 
Saddle Trip on the Texas Frontier 
on the " Crooked Trail " of a Run- 
away Ox. First appeared in serial 
form in The Stockman. Paper 
bound 25 cents. 

Published by The Stockman-Farmer Publishing Co. 



"The White River Raft" 

A stirring tale, largely true, of 
a logging trip into the flooded for- 
ests of Arkansas, followed by an 
exciting voyage down the Mississ- 
ippi River. Cloth, clearly printed, 
illustrated, $1.00. 



"Saddles and Lariats " 

An exciting frontier story of 
adventures in driving a herd of 
cattle through the West, with a 
pretty romance woven into it. 
Cloth, illustrated, $1.00. 



Fertility" 

By ALVA AGEE 

fOUR things — essentials — any soil must 
have to make it fertile — drainage, lime, 
organic matter, available plant food. 

Mr. Agee tells about these four things 
in this little book, tells why and how in 
his simple, concise, understandable style 
that has helped to make him famous as a 
writer. Studying this book leaves with 
one the impression that he is full master 
of the problems of the soil. Practice of 
its teachings means profit. No farmer, it 
matters not how good or bad, can afford 
to be without this book. 

Fully Illustrated, Price 50 cents. 



Copyrighted and Published by 

The National Stockman and Farmer 
Publishing Company. 



p£g \ 1918 



"CROPS AND METHODS 
OF SOIL IMPROVEMENT" 



By ALVA AGEE 



'J'HIS is the most complete and practical 
work on this subject ever written. Be- 
low are comments on this book from noted 
agricultural authorities : 

Prof. R. L. Watts, Acting Dean Pennsylvania 
School of Agriculture: — " The book is so prac- 
tical and helpful # # # that it should find a 
place on the book shelves of every land owner 
who desires to make his soil better and more 
productive." 

W. I. Chamberlain :—" Mr. Agee tells how 
any good practical farmer, on a reasonably 
good farm, can improve his farm in pocket, 
that is, support his family and improve the 
soil # * * from the resources of the farm 
itself." 

W. D. Zinn : — " I know of no book that gives 
the farmer so much practical and helpful in- 
formation." 

L. W. Lighty: — "This book is filled with es- 
sentials while the non-essentials are left out." 

Cloth bound, illustrated, at this office $1.25. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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